How the world works - Part I

Baksheesh

Often when we travel around the world we find practices and customs that we aren't too familiar with and possibly even make us feel a little uncomfortable because we do not know how to react. A common, almost universal practice that we (in the USA) aren't familiar or comfortable with is the practice of "baksheesh" or bribery.

If you want to go to Nigeria, for instance, you obtain a visa before leaving home. When you get off the airplane and hand your passport to the immigration official he will look at it, look at you, put it down and ask for the next person in line, or maybe come right out and ask the famous Nigerian greeting "what do you have for me?" Possibly he'll be even more direct and say, "dash me." Even though the practice is illegal it is expected that you will put a sum of money in your passport that will help expedite your processing. The theory is that tourists have money, are in a weakened state after a long flight, and fear (you might have to suffer worse embarrassing procedures like a full body search, interrogation, fill out forms, might even have to bribe the boss as well). In the end you either comply or wait it out depending on how confident you are or how fast you want to get out of the airport.

In Nigeria, this is only the start. You will still be confronted by an array of government officials for customs, health, and security checks before you can get out of the airport and they all want the same thing. Once outside you'll have to contend with beggars and con men and you are never sure who is legitimately trying to be helpful.

In many countries, if you want a phone, or a utility connection for your home, or a drivers license or almost anything involving the government you will have to bribe someone just to start the process. Not all police forces in the world are corrupt, but many are, so if there's a guy with a gun and he wants something, even if he is in uniform, you should probably give it to him.

In 2001 according to a report by "Transparency International," a Berlin-based watchdog group established to expose and prevent corruption, Nigeria was ranked the most corrupt country in the world. Ninety nations were evaluated and the least corrupt were Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, New Zealand and Canada. The USA was 14th on the list of least corrupt. The USA has had a law for 20 years now that prohibits American or multinational companies with US ties from using corrupt practices and there is a new international law against bribery, but neither seems to have been able to stem the tide.

Of course we have a custom not so different from baksheesh which people in Saudi Arabia aren't all that familiar with either. We call it "tipping." The rules for this probably vary around the country, let alone around the world, and it doesn't exactly meet the same need as bribery since you do it after a service is performed. Still you can see how illogical it may appear to a foreigner to have to tip someone for good service -especially if the food was lousy.

Government corruption is rampant in most third world and many developing countries around the world and is a serious problem for rich and poor alike. Government inefficiency trickles down to the lowest level and aggravates all other social or economic ills. It is difficult to combat or reduce when it is considered standard business practice. I'd be a little naïve to believe that bribery, payola and extortion are foreign concepts to Americans, but at least we know it is illegal and can be held accountable.

My tip: whenever you're unsure if baksheesh is required, just act stupid - it works for me.

(by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist)