Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - 05:56 PM

The red tape begins to tangle....

Visas are a necessary evil. Necessary to justify the jobs of bureaucratic pencil-pushers, and evil for much the same reason. On the Tour d'Afrique, two visas are notoriously difficult to obtain: Sudan and Ethiopia. So it's important that we procure them in advance of the trip. But, of course, there's a catch. They're only valid for a month.

I contacted the Sudanese Embassy in November and they assured me they could arrange a visa that would be valid on January 27th, when we cross the border into Sudan. I sent off the paperwork with my passport and a cheque for a hundred and two bucks. Waited a month. Called the Embassy. They told me they had no news for me. Mysteriously, two days later, my passport arrived with a small green visa tucked inside. I checked the tiny handwritten dates. It was set to expire on January 26th, the day before we will reach Sudan.

I called the Embassy the next morning and explained the situation.

"Send it back." the woman at the other end of the line commanded.

"Are you sure you can arrange for it to be valid on the right date?" I asked.

"Send it back."

"Do you need another application form?"

"Send it back."


I've sent it back. It's been nearly two months and I still don't have a visa for Sudan. And no time left to get one for Ethiopia. Ah well. I've been patient with the bureaucrats. They'll have to be patient with me.