 |
Kathmandu,Tuesday May 09, 2000 Baishakh 27, 2057.
|
How greed compromises security
Earlier this month I had a delightful two-week
visit from my younger brother, who had some time off from his computer engineering job in
San Jose, California, USA. When I dropped him off at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA)
on April 18th, an unseemly incident occurred which I feel obligated to report.
I had been pleasantly surprised when the police
officer at the International Departure entrance nonchalantly ushered both of us inside
despite the fact that only my brother had a plane ticket. The last time I’d dropped a
friend off there (less than a month after the Indian Airlines hijacking), I was not
allowed inside the airport. This time, as the police officer who was checking the tickets
began to ask for mine, his companion ordered, "Let them pass". My immediate
confusion gave way to elation as I realised my brother and I would be able to spend one
last hour together before he made the long flight home. Soon, I had forgotten all about
our entrance, assuming that the temporarily stringent regulation of passage in and out of
TIA had been relaxed.
When It came time to say our farewells, I returned
to the door from which I had entered the airport. The same two police officers were
standing at the door, and I waited patiently for them to open it. When they noticed me
standing there, the officer who had previously ordered his friend to let me pass asked me
if I had a ticket. I told him I didn’t and was about to add that he hadn’t asked
for my ticket before, when he interrupted with, "The sign says you need a ticket to
come." He pointed to a sign on the outside of the door that I hadn’t noticed
before and couldn’t read from inside. "If you don’t have a ticket, you have
to pay the charge."
I started at him in disbelief, then abruptly went
in search of another exit, or the counter where one would have to pay this mysterious
"charge". Finding neither, I returned to the police officer, about to admonish
him for having been so duplicitous. He was busy talking with someone else, so as his
partner opened the door to let someone in from the outside, I squeezed through and walked
off with both officers calling after me.
I was and am incensed at the devious manner in
which this police officer tried to extract a bribe from me. Not only does it illustrate
the blatant corruption that exists among those in positions of power, but it underscores
the unsettling reality that avarice compromises security where it is most valued.
It’s no wonder the Indian Airline representatives have been so insistent upon
enlisting their own security personnel at TIA ever since December’s hijacking. Aside
from being outraged at becoming the unwitting victim of such brazen extortion, my heart is
filled with sorrow for Nepal. If every person in power, from the school teacher to the
elected government official, had the courage to be honest, this nation could truly be free
of its self-imposed oppression and injustice.
Coincidentally, a friend of mine also took someone
to the airport on the very same day, and a similar experience befell him. When he tried to
leave, the police officer said, "I helped you, now you help me." Why not help
your country for a change?
Jake Christensen
Dhobighat, Lalitpur |
