Janaki Gurung hits the nail on the head with her piece "If we want tourists, scrap visa fees" (#113). Worse still is the bureaucracy, and that applies painfully to those of us here working as volunteers and on humanitarian or development programs. In May of last year I was asked to volunteer as professor at a local college and research centre that agreed, as part of the arrangement, to obtain the necessary study/research visa. That was almost five months ago. Last week, just shortly before I'm to leave Nepal after eight years working on development projects, and for a total fee of about $500, the college was finally successful in getting that visa. Personally, I've had to appear at the Immigration Department half a dozen times, fill out over a dozen forms, provide numerous photos. But that is nothing compared to the weeks and months that the college staff have had to spend dogging the process... day after day... countless hours. Several humanitarian and development agencies with which I have been associated over the past eight years have had to hire full time staff members just to handle such matters, taking needed funds away from more important tasks of alleviating poverty. From what I hear, my case is not at all unusual.

Mac Odell,
Tangal