or, Chiri Through the Looking Glass
In the news today, front page in Diario Libre http://www.diariolibre.com/app/article.aspx?id=21129 there is a story about the DR postal service 'falling to pieces'.
We all know that 'the Dominican postal service' is roughly equivalent to such illustrious institutions such as 'the Paraguayan Navy' or 'the Belgian mountaineering club' in that if it does exist, it does not carry out the functions its name implies.
We also know that the Postal Service experienced a short-lived but glorious resurrection during the first Leonel administration, but fell into its old ways during his successor's stint. The Postal Service continued to exist, but its purpose in life was not to relay correspondence to, from and within the DR, but to provide employment for the party faithful.
I'll have to say I was surprised to read today's report about the Postal service. Granted, when Pib and I ventured into the main building in La Feria the other day we found it to be generously populated with employees and in a good state of repair, but completely devoid of something you see in any post office in most other places in the world - the public.
Neither Kafka nor Dante came to mind during our brief visit - which elicited a mild ripple of excitement among the workers whose paths we crossed - as if to say: "Look! Real live customers!" The post office counters were all staffed, but the clerks looked out at an empty expanse of hall, because no-one seemed to be buying stamps. There was some activity in and around an office with 'Recursos Humanos' on the door, though.
It was a little like a cheesy science fiction short story where everyone has died out except for the bureacrats, who keep on going through the motions and are then cunningly revealed to be robots, or one of those 1960s French surrealistic films set in an airport. In fact, the interior, which was built during one of the Balaguer administrations, is very much like an airport. The exterior looks fairly shabby, when you enter it is quite impressive. High ceilings, spacious halls, sweeping staircases all look as if they have received a recent lick of paint, and the floors are squeaky clean.
We remarked on the absence of real work going on, but I wondered whether things were being set in motion for a second coming of the dormant postal service under Leonel. Even before today's reports I had the intention of posting about it and recommending that people visit and see for themselves.
Now I wonder what will become of it all. They've had their electricity cut off, they haven't paid the workers for weeks, and none of the vehicles work, according to the article.
In the news today, front page in Diario Libre http://www.diariolibre.com/app/article.aspx?id=21129 there is a story about the DR postal service 'falling to pieces'.
We all know that 'the Dominican postal service' is roughly equivalent to such illustrious institutions such as 'the Paraguayan Navy' or 'the Belgian mountaineering club' in that if it does exist, it does not carry out the functions its name implies.
We also know that the Postal Service experienced a short-lived but glorious resurrection during the first Leonel administration, but fell into its old ways during his successor's stint. The Postal Service continued to exist, but its purpose in life was not to relay correspondence to, from and within the DR, but to provide employment for the party faithful.
I'll have to say I was surprised to read today's report about the Postal service. Granted, when Pib and I ventured into the main building in La Feria the other day we found it to be generously populated with employees and in a good state of repair, but completely devoid of something you see in any post office in most other places in the world - the public.
Neither Kafka nor Dante came to mind during our brief visit - which elicited a mild ripple of excitement among the workers whose paths we crossed - as if to say: "Look! Real live customers!" The post office counters were all staffed, but the clerks looked out at an empty expanse of hall, because no-one seemed to be buying stamps. There was some activity in and around an office with 'Recursos Humanos' on the door, though.
It was a little like a cheesy science fiction short story where everyone has died out except for the bureacrats, who keep on going through the motions and are then cunningly revealed to be robots, or one of those 1960s French surrealistic films set in an airport. In fact, the interior, which was built during one of the Balaguer administrations, is very much like an airport. The exterior looks fairly shabby, when you enter it is quite impressive. High ceilings, spacious halls, sweeping staircases all look as if they have received a recent lick of paint, and the floors are squeaky clean.
We remarked on the absence of real work going on, but I wondered whether things were being set in motion for a second coming of the dormant postal service under Leonel. Even before today's reports I had the intention of posting about it and recommending that people visit and see for themselves.
Now I wonder what will become of it all. They've had their electricity cut off, they haven't paid the workers for weeks, and none of the vehicles work, according to the article.