I wonder if the people working in the consulate in Ottawa are held to any productivity standards. It surely doesnt feel as if they are. It is now exactly 1 month since we sent the Dossier to the consulate. Excuses have come easily thus far. First, he's not here, then he's here but he needs more paperwork and needs even the index sheet stamped by the External affairs ministry in Canada. Then he promises Dee (my hubby) that the file will be ready for him to be picked up on Friday. Well, today is Friday and since Dee is out of town on work, I went to the consulate. Guess what!??? Niet. Nada. No. Monsieur Consul has again gone out somewhere and the file is still not completed. When I asked them why doesnt anyone answer the phone when Iv been trying to call since morning to avoid an unnecessary trip...I get a strange look saying "we must have been busy". Everytime someone has gone there it is empty! There is no one there! And how much work do they get everyday that they have still not completed a 1 month old file, I wonder!?
This is when they have no other adoption files to work on. I wonder when the files do start trickling in, what their turn around will be.
I doubt they realise that they are controlling the time when families will be created and completed. I doubt they care.Not happy. Yes, delays are normal, but someone working in Canada should at least be more productive.
Sorry to ear that but not surprised at all. Welcome in the great process of adoption in ex former ussr republic. It's frustrating but you have to be patient because they do not work like us. I don't know if they know the meaning of productivity.
ReplyDeleteWhen you'll be in Kaz, you'll probably seen what i'm talking about.
Best reguards
Sophie
Oh yeah, thats why Im just displeased but not too upset. ;)
ReplyDeleteComing from India and having gone through all sorts of processes for work permits to come to Canada, then immigration here, then OCI (like being a dual citizen of India but not have the right to vote in India as we're Canadian citizens now), we have seen how govts work. And honestly the Canadian processes/govt officials are no less. Things move slowly all over the world in impt processes, so we're quite used to and hence well prepared for that. :)
The west, as I say, is not how most of the world works. Being avid travellers and having lived in diff countries teaches you and in a way prepares you for things. ;)
As of now we're ok, because we have a side project going on - that of buying a new home. So Im distracted with that and preparing our own home for sale. All will happen in good time. :)
Thanks for writing Sophie. Keep the tips coming. :)
We too lived some interesting, stressful moments dealing with the Kaz Consulate. I recall making arrangements for our second trip to Karaganda to re-unite with our daughter and bring her home (winter 2010), and arranging for our visas ourselves (since our agency dropped the ball). We were promised the visas would be ready the morning of the day before our departure. I arrived at the Consulate at the prescribed time only to be told the Consul would be out until the afternoon. (The Consul had to issue the visas in person.) Thankfully we got the visas in time to travel. Don't despair. Hope your in-country experience is as good as ours. That said, continue preparing for things not working the way one would expect. While adoption is a life-changing experience, people in developing/transition countries are dealing regularly with survival issues (also life changing) against which our "issues" tend to pale in comparison. (e.g. Many people are working multiple jobs to survive - kind of puts a different spin on "productivity".) Being seasoned travellers will definitely help you - energy saved from not dealing with culture shock can be used for "culture appreciation". We look forward to travelling to Kazakhstan in the near future with our little one in tow.
ReplyDeleteWith best wishes,
Lynne
Im sure we're going to have somethign similar for the visas, the way they work at the consulate, sadly. baby steps, I tell myself. In the end it will all be worth it. Touchwood.
ReplyDelete