Could You CC Me On That?

Some of you may remember this;  some time ago I tried to get my Dutch BA legalized into the Lebanese system.

Ahh, you don’t remember my ordeal  with the Ministry of Education? That doesn’t surprise me, even I had almost forgotten about it. It’s been, after all, only a year-and-a-half since I have submitted my papers. I mean, what’s 18 months in the life of an employee of the Ministry of Higher Education? What does the ‘higher’ stand for? I think it is because they are way up high in that building.  

These days, I am a regular at that Ministry.
I get this smile of recognition as I walk into the building. They know me now. They don’t even check my bag anymore.
Last time I even had an employee asking me as I walked into the elevator “sixth floor, mish hek?” I mean, they know what floor I need to be on.

When I walk into the office where the two gentlemen sit (who check your little stub of paper with the number that indicates there’s paperwork of mine with them), we greet each other in a familiar way. “Ya kiffik!? Kifsahtik?” We’re practically on a first name basis now.

The lady that deals with the paperwork that is overdue says in an indignant voice “Why is it still here?” You’re asking me? I don’t know why it is still here.



Anyway, I tried again this morning. They send me straight on to the head of the department these days. Even he is surprised at the incompetence of his own ministry, though he doesn’t say so.

What it all boils down to is that, for the past 550 days, they have not managed to send an e-mail to the exams commission of my Dutch university.  550 days. They come up with all kinds of intricate excuses, but all of these are just inventions; Figments of the mind. They’ve yet to a single e-mail.

Now let’s do some math.

There’s 365 days in a year of which 52.1 are Sundays. We don’t work on Sundays. Let’s make it 53.  Let’s throw in the Saturdays as well, even though the ministry is open on Saturday. So that’s another 52. Add 18 official holidays, 11 sick days, another 5 days of civil unrest which would prohibit an employee of the Ministry of Education to come to work and another 15 days paid leave for holidays. (53 + 53 + 18 + 11 + 5 + 15 = 155 days off. 365 – 155 = 210 work days). That leaves me with 315 days in a year-and-a-half that one actually might do some work at the Ministry.

Theoretically speaking, they have had 315 working days in which they COULD HAVE sent an e-mail.

Today, the head of the department (let’s call him AB) promised me on his heart (for the 3rd time this year, I might add) that he would send an e-mail to my university this very Monday, and he hands me his business card.



Bechara Khoury Road, Beirut. Friday afternoon, 5 o'clock



The business card he gives me displays a hotmail account. Not a gov.lb address. I can just picture this; My university getting a request for personal information about one of their former students from a hotmail account. That one goes linea recta into the Spam box. I hope he uses his official account. Although if you check their web site, I don’t keep my hopes high. 

“Could you cc me on that one,” I ask him, as I give him my business card.

“CC? What do you mean?”  he replies. .

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Higher education, you said? Does anyone have some serious wasta with these people?