Current issues: immigration, security guards, rain

Here I am cruising along, thinking how great it is that for Americans, entry to Rwanda is free for a 90-day stay, and that all I had to do was cross to a neighboring country every 3 months for reentry. (Visa fees for neighboring countries: Uganda, $50; Tanzania, $50; Kenya, $50; Burundi, $40; DR Congo, $115+.)

Suddenly, almost without warning (which is typical for African countries), the Rwandan immigration law changed on November 1. Of course, it is now more restrictive, not less so. And it goes without saying that the authorities are always looking for ways to get more money.

So now the story is: I have to pay $30 to enter the country, and for a period of only 30 days each time!

This means that just to leave Rwanda and reenter will cost me $40-50 for the neighboring country, $30 for Rwanda, plus the bus fare, which totals over $100, not counting whatever I spend in the country for accommodations, food, etc. Repeat every 30 days!

I had a trip planned to Uganda the first week of November, but I canceled because it would buy me only a week more in Rwanda, since I still have about a month left on my current 90-day stay.

Too much 麻烦 (trouble), I thought. Does this mean I will have to return to the U.S., and all this work in the Chinese field will come to a grinding halt, just as it is barely starting? If Jehovah has gotten us this far, he will surely be able to overcome this obstacle! 

So I prayed about the matter over the next several days, and it was my Chinese Bible student Han Kai who gave me the answer. Since I am teaching him and his wife English, in addition to the Bible, he suggested that I work for him as a consultant. His company would apply for a work permit. That would require a passport, photos, diploma, resume or CV, and police report showing no criminal convictions.

Then, a few days later, he thought of a better idea. He said I should start my own business. I could apply at RDB (Rwanda Development Board) for a business certificate. Afterward, at immigration I could apply for the work permit myself. The diploma would not be required—thank goodness—and it would cost 100,000Rwf ($142) for the two-year permit. Also, by starting my own business, I wouldn't have to pay the 30% Rwandan tax on income, because it's hard enough having to pay U.S. tax on income earned anywhere in the world, as U.S. law requires for American citizens. (Even with the overseas exemption, there still is the matter of Social Security and Medicare taxes.)

So one of his employees took me to RDB and walked me through the entire process. It is free to start a company (formerly was 15,000Rwf, or $21), because Rwanda is trying to encourage entrepreneurship and new businesses. I now have a company called "Creative Learning Services Ltd."! Its purpose is to teach languages, and provide legal business services. Yes, Chinese companies often need help reviewing their legal contracts, the English of which is often cringe-worthy.

I went to the appropriate governmental agency to apply for a police report (1,200Rwf, or $1.70), only to be told the next day that I had to get a residency visa from immigration first. Then, at immigration they told me they required a police report from my country of residence (U.S.), because even though I have been in Rwanda for the last 8 months, I am still legally a resident of the U.S. In other words, being a tourist does not count toward residency. So I had to have my parents send me an application for a police report from the Sacramento Police Department, I completed and returned it to them, and now I'm waiting for the report ($62 for the report, $24 for the mailing).

I know this narrative may bore you readers, but hey, it's my diary, and I want to record every detail of all this because, who knows, I may have to go through it again, either here or in some other country. Sometimes I wonder if I'm getting too old for this.

Additional notes: Han Kai remarked during a recent Bible study that "God has blessed black people, because they live in such a beautiful country, relatively unpolluted, especially compared to China." I replied that China was just as beautiful at one time, until people polluted it. God has blessed the entire earth with beauty, but what people have done with it is another story.
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At KIE, where I have a number of Bible studies, I recently got stopped at the front gate by security. Usually, I just walk on through and the guards never stop me, probably because there are Chinese teachers at KIE and they think I'm just one of them. Besides, the guards only speak Kinyarwanda and when they can't communicate with you, they just let you go. (General tip: When you get into a tight spot, start speaking another language. What can the other person do but allow you to pass?)

Well, this particular time the guards' supervisor was at the booth and he asked me, "Do you have permission to come in here?" I said, "Why do I need permission to visit someone?" The truth is I have come here more than 50 times and no one has given me a problem. So why is this happening now? This was the first time I had ever seen this guy and, frankly, I operate on the principle learned long ago, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Ironically, if you pull up in a car, they will open the front gate and not stop you. Does having a car somehow make you more trustworthy? . . . Additional note: Even though they are not stopping the cars these days, in the recent past they used to place this device on the end of a long pole underneath the cars. A bomb-detecting device, you think? Hardly! It was a mirror on the end of the pole, used to see the undercarriage of the car. My question is, do these guards know exactly what a bomb looks like? And what if it is in the evening, after dark? What good is the mirror then?
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The rainy season is upon us! Part of almost every day it rains, sometimes torrential. You have to be prepared to bring an umbrella all the time, because even if there is not a cloud in the sky, the atmospheric conditions can change dramatically in the span of a few minutes. One interesting thing I have noticed: Few Rwandans carry umbrellas--maybe about 15% of the population, and mostly women. Instead, people prefer to huddle in large groups under the shelter of bus stages, or the awnings of shops, waiting for the rain to stop. The problem is, the rain could last for a few minutes, or it could go on for hours. You never know. It seems that for the locals, time is not an issue. For me, however, I can't see standing at a bus stage for hours when I have things to do, places to go, people to see. So why on earth don't people carry umbrellas!? Even the cheap ones will not break the bank, though in a fierce wind they may be demolished.

In fact, I brought with me from the U.S. an umbrella called a Gustbuster SunBLOK that retails for $70. It is a monster of an umbrella (58"), good for two persons, can withstand wind gusts more than 55mph, protects against sun, etc. On amazon.com, it was selling for $43, but with a discount coupon, I got it for $18, quite a deal! Of course, carrying such an umbrella all day in field service is troublesome (3 lbs. and long, non-retractable), but for short trips it is definitely helpful!