Do we really have a US embassy in Libya? No, I think it's just a farce. They offer hardly any services and give nothing but excuses as to how their hands are tied because they are still located in the wonderful five star hotel (The Corinthia).
I put in for a passport renewal about two months ago. At that time they said it would take about three weeks. They can't issue me a passport here because they aren't in a secure location. The paperwork must go from here to Tunis, to the US - then it's sent back to Tunis before it get's sent here. I mean come on! What is the problem with going directly from Tripoli to the US? Save some time and skip the whole Tunis thing? For sure people must be travelling back and forth between here and the US all the time.
I'm still waiting.
Now my passport is expired and I hope and pray that I have no emergencies. But I need my passport for other things too, it's used as a form of ID and I need it to put the number on legal documents. It's very frustrating to be without a passport.
When I try to call the embassy they either don't answer the phone or it's hooked up to the fax machine. If I email them they usually either don't reply, or if they do it's after about a week and they give me the excuse that they will check with the embassy in Tunis. Then they never follow up with and tell me what Tunis had to say. For God's sake you can track packages with DHL and know where they are every minute of the day! Get with it! - there is technology these days - it's 2006!
Of course the whole time they are not getting back with me I have the mental picture that they are off lounging around at the hotel pool or coffee shop or probably off at the beach. Uuuugh!
Can you picture me now? I have steam coming out of my ears!!!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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After living in Libya for twenty-six years you would think my Arabic would be perfect, but it is far, far, far from that. I do get my point ... -
In my last post I wrote about how I felt on the first day of my arrival back to Libya after a month's absence. I said it was dirtier and...
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The rains have finally come, accompanied by lightening and thunder. The weather is cooler and the dust has settled. We'll see how treac...
First of all......It's me Aimen one of your student.
ReplyDeleteI'm realy sorry about what hapen to your passport,And I hope if thay get it back to you soon..
But what I Wanted to say is that thay told me another story about how it work with sending the papers,Thay told me that The paperwork must go from here to Tunis First,(to the U.K),Then to the US -And then it's sent back to U.K to Tunis before it get's sent here,.....Different sotry hah.
Now...thay told me that the Real one will open at the end of march....(just for the record).
With my best wishes
C’mon, Teri, you were too rough on our boys and girls in the Foreign Service. It so happens that my whole family has just applied for new US and Libyan passports, sent the stuff on the same day. We’ll see who gets it done first. Did they tell you 3 weeks? The US told us 3-6 weeks, and the Libyans said under two. Of course the Libyan liaison office is a little busy right now with a certain outstanding water and sewer bill for the old Libyan embassy building. Interestingly, the records show the account was last registered to the “United Kingdom of Libya,” a name that has been obsolete since 1963!
ReplyDeleteThe good news is, you can track your US passport application on line. I just tried it, and I hope it works for your app. Find the tracking link and other info here
http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/npic_898.html
Back to the boys at Corinthia… Instead of lounging in the café, they are probably out doing all sorts of things! I thought about this some, and it would make a great top-10 list. Here’s my version:
Top 10 time commitments of the US Embassy in Tripoli
10. Re-training staff on driving safely to and from work.
9. Trying to figure out what date it is on the many official calendars in Libya.
8. Casing out the Corinthia Hotel’s leather shop for rumored appearances by al-Qaeda operative Ricardo Montalban.
7. Shopping for appropriate Caftan pin as a gift for the Libyan Terrorist in Chief on his 37th anniversary in power.
6. Searching for empty metal cans in remote Libyan chicken farms, to add to the Oak Ridge exhibit called “Libyan WMDs— ain’t no chicken spit!”
5. Enrolling Libyan terrorists into the US Wit-less Protection Program
4. Arranging the Usama-look-alike contest, and for Bush to present the winner on the eve of the US congressional elections. [Canceled at the last minute--somebody mixed up the dates.]
3. Importing US technology for local crafts industry to turn scrapped nukes into “beaming” Caftan accessories.
2. Spying on Libyan high tech of turning chicken manure into dangerous bio-weapons.
But the Number One time commitment for US diplomats in Tripoli is…
1. Picking up trash!
This is a outrage ! That in this day and time of high speed (instant ) internet connection , they ( the State Dept ., oh by the way ... aren't they the very people that designed the Internet for the CIA ? ) can not manage something better than this ? Is this a excuse for not doing their job ? Oh , of course heard the whole story on security issues post 9/11 .All about the Homeland Security Laws in the US , but please , you mean to tell me that if a oil worker is here on his 1 month work , due to leave on his 2 week " vacation" home before he comes back here to work again, and he discovers that his passport will exspire BEFORE he gets back to the STATES , they will make him wait " how many months" before they get his new passport to him ? Wouldn't that make him a ilegal alien inside Libya , and therfore against the Law? If the CIA is capable of listening in on all our phone/internet conversations , then why are they lacking in the teck. to process a simple passport renewal from one of their so- called ( what is the Office In Tripoli offically called anyway when it is in a 5 star hotel ?)embassey's ? They do have someone offically in charge don't they ? Someone that has clout ? Who is the person that Khadafy speaks to when he wants to get a visa for his son to go to the US to visit ? Or does he have to wait 2 or more months to get a reply to his enquries too ? Oh well , this is one of those "MYSTERIES of THE UNIVERSE" I suppose .Will stay tuned to see what transpires in this OLD episode of " MS. KHADIJA TRIES TO RENEW HER PASSPOERT IN TRIPOLI , LIBYA " !
ReplyDeleteSuliman , I think the answer to your ?'s will probably be either # 6 or , #8 which is my personel pick !
ReplyDeleteHi Khadijateri :) I spoke to them the other re. applying for a visa to the US since it is officially and embassy, and was told that I still had to go to Tunis or Malta or any other place I choose. *sigh*
ReplyDelete