The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.2001, Page 14

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Vol. 56 #3
Letters from Bosnia
by Len and Karen Vopnfjord
April 18,2001
Hello from Bosnia and Herzegovina:
The last time I wrote we were being
invited to meet the Chief of Police in order
to register as long term residents here in
Tuzla, Bosnia. We were escorted to his
office at the police station by the former
Minister of Reconstruction, Dr. Benjamin.,
who has befriended the Canadian Urban
Institute and is of considerable help to us.
We were served Turkish coffee while the
Police Chief explained to our translator,
Alma, just what was required for us to
remain here. Apparently we needed to get
a “work permit.” We are consultants with
CUI, on a Canadian International
Development Agency sponsored program.
Even though we are not paid by anyone
here, it is mandatory to have a “work per-
mit” in order to get permission to stay here
on a long-term basis. To make a long story
short, we just received the official stamp in
our passports last week after over 2 months
of filling out a variety of forms, each one
requiring the payment of a fee. It appears
that they have so many staff that each one
must have something to do. It ended up
costing 400 Deutche Marks and it is good
for one year.
After the war 35 private banks opened;
there were already 17 socially owned banks
operating in BiH. We put our money into a
State operated bank when we first arrived.
Later we discovered that some banks were
in danger of collapsing and a German
NGO reported losing 1,000,000 DEM
when the bank they dealt with went under.
Since then we have moved our account to
an Austrian bank where we feel somewhat
more secure. Banking in the state bank is
unlike anything we had ever experienced
before. Masses of people push their way to
the counter, with very little “first come first
served” service. When you finally make it
to a teller, with whom you dealt the last
time you made a transaction, you might be
told to go clear across the enormous
Russian overbuilt bank floor to another
teller. Here a piece of paper is dealt with
and then you find your way back to anoth-
er teller to receive your cash. The entire
process can take upwards of an hour and
everyone in the group surrounding you is
completely aware of your entire transac-
tion. The money received is Bosnian con-
vertible marks, based on the German
Deutche Mark. There is hope that the new
private banks will be reduced in number
and provide much better service.
I mentioned before that we were trying
to buy a car. We were advised not to get
one here in Bosnia due to the bad roads and
the poor condition of used vehicles, so we
went to Vienna. We actually were in
Budapest on a work related trip and Vienna
is only 3 hours by train from there on the
Orient Express. Our hopes were high as
we travelled leisurely in the private cubicle
in the coach of the train. We arrived in
Vienna and took a taxi to the nearest VW
used car dealership. Our eyes were bright
as we walked among the old cars; this was