Customer service joke

There is a Russian joke that goes like this:

A knock at the door in the middle of the night. The owner asks who it is, and a semi-drunk voice from behind the door asks back: "Did you call a plumber at any time convenient for him?" Maybe the translation isn't funny, but it should give you the general idea.

This is what we had a couple days ago. We had problems with electricity - it would behave erratically and would shut off for longer periods of time. I called the utility (the Spanish Union Fenosa) and they said they would send someone THE NEXT DAY. My last question was to confirm that they would come during the day (I was calling after 9 pm). Imagine how surprised I was when I heard the door bell after midnight a few hours later! They came and fixed the problem very quickly. Now, I am puzzled: did I have to complain that they came at that time, or should I just be thankful that they came and fixed the problem?

Apparently, it's not the first time they act like this. When our friends had some problems with electricity they were told to wait till the next day. No one showed up so they had an independent electrician fix the problem. The Union Fenosa guys came during the night after the problem had been fixed!

And the award for worst bureaucracy goes to... the UK!

Yes, that's right - UK! Living in Moldova, I have seen quite a lot of red tape and one would think that Moldova would be the most bureaucratic state, at least more so than the UK. Alas, this was not the case in my experience.

Readers of this blog will know that I wanted to take my family for a two-week vacation in London, UK. However, our vacation plans shattered after hitting the highest red tape barrier I have seen in years - the visa application process. Below is a letter of complaint I sent to the embassy after the whole thing was over, if you're interested. I hope you will agree that the new visa process is far too bureaucratic and can be significantly improved without compromising national security or causing queues.

Letter begins:
===============
I would like to express my disappointment with the general procedure of applying for visas and with the level of service of your visa staff.

Please note that this complaint is not a simple disagreement with my visa refusal. However, I believe that the cumbersome procedures and in some cases, lack of consideration of submitted documentation by visa staff, have led to a different outcome than could have taken place otherwise. I urge you to take the time to read this letter, address the problems that were incurred with your staff and forward it to the authorities in charge of setting the rules for the whole process.

First of all, one of the reasons for refusing visa to [my sister] was quoted as "No evidence has been provided to show that your parents or your legal guardians have given their written consent for your travel to the UK". However, such consent (legalised according to the legislation of Moldova) was provided and it leaves us wondering how closely the visa officer studied the documents that had been submitted with the applications.

In addition, I spoke with a visa officer on the phone on Thursday, 28 May (at least I was under the impression that I was speaking with a visa officer), and in the course of our conversation I was told to provide a letter from the person with whom we would be staying in the UK. We agreed that I would provide such letter before the visa decision would be made. However, the decision was made nonetheless, with the absence of such letter quoted as one of the reasons.

Lack of interviews with applicants leaves the visa officer to make assumptions which may not be correct. As such, I provided as evidence of funds original deposit agreements with my bank, which show that I have over [sufficient amount] USD in savings, and that all these funds will be released before the intended departure date. This amount is more than enough to make the two-week trip but this information was disregarded. Why?

In addition, in the refusal letter, air fares were quoted as £500 per person for a roundtrip Moldova-UK, quoting www.aua.com. A visit to a local travel agent will reveal that there are cheaper options available. Besides, we intended to take a much cheaper Kiev-London flight that costs less than €250 for a roundtrip (a taxi ride Chisinau-Kiev is 2000 MDL, while a night at the airport hotel does not cost more than $200 for a whole family). This visa officer's assumption is absolutely groundless and could have been easily clarified in a personal interview. Nonetheless, we still have enough funds to take the expensive Chisinau-London flight, as was demonstrated by the deposit agreements that were disregarded.

The major disappointment was the policy of zero guidance, which creates much confusion and uncertainty. Applicants are not given any advice by the embassy staff and are instead referred to the WorldBridge Services website, which does not provide much guidance either, while in some cases gives incorrect advice. Specifically, we were advised that an infant does not need a separate passport if she is registered in a parent's passport; when applying, we were told otherwise. This clearly needs addressing.

The above examples lead me to believe that the whole visa application process has become far too bureaucratic and that most misunderstandings could be easily avoided through an interview. Moreover, at least some guidance regarding the application process would be of much help to applicants. I noticed that the most detailed instructions refer to the photograph rather than to supporting documents.

This red tape makes the UK Visa institution not much different from typical Moldovan post-soviet state institutions and, no offence, looks more like a way to extort money as applicants are deprived of the right to provide any explanations and can only submit another application, paying the full fee again, in the hope that this time they got it right (and they never know until they have a decision).
==================
Letter ends.

I would like to mention that I had been in the UK before (more than once) and that this time no interview was scheduled to clear up any questions the visa staff may have had (the phone conversation I had with someone clearly didn't count for some reason even though I answered many questions). A friend of mine from the UK tried calling the embassy during their opening hours but only got the answering machine and I had the same experience once too: the answering machine tells you the opening hours so it's nothing short of a paradox!

I managed to speak to a visa assistant after getting the refusal and she couldn't tell me why the parental consent for my sister was disregarded (I seriusly doubt that they have a way to revise their decisions even if it is their fault). Also, when asked why the deposit agreements were not accepted as proof of funds, she said that it didn't say anywhere that the money was for the vacation (doh!). Moreover, the embassy wants bank statement as proof of funds, so it is basically enough to show them that you had enough money at the end of last month on your current account. What rational person would keep such amounts in a current account that earns no interest? Besides, I can always deposit the money there for a few days but that won't mean the money is mine, whereas deposits are locked for long-term and in my view provide a better proof of liquidity. When I asked what is the best way to proceed next time (i.e. what documents to include), she told me that they were not authorised to provide visa applciation advice. An email reply from the embassy (I asked a few questions earlier) told me to refer to the Worldbridge Services website (https://www.visainfoservices.com/Pages/Welcome.aspx). That contractor answers your questions (but not always giving you the correct information) and for more information refers you to the embassy!

Five years ago we simply came with applications, had an interview and collected the visas in the afternoon. This time you can't even speak to the visa officer. You have no right of appeal and you cannot amend the application if anything is missing. But you can pay €78 per person and apply again. And application processing takes 5-15 working days! This sucks big time. The worst thing is that there is no feedback mechanism - you can't complain or appeal the decision, there is no real watchdog and this all looks more like scam rather than a decent human-friendly institution.

So I propose to give the Bureaucracy 2009 award to the UK.

Moldova: how software publishers promote piracy

I have been thinking about this issue for some time, but recently I have faced the problem myself.

A little introduction: I like playing computer games. I don't play many, but I have a few titles I enjoy.

In Moldova, people used to buy games and other software at the city flea market. 99% of it was pirated and I was really surprised once when I discovered that I had bought a legal version. After these sellers were removed from the flea market, the only option became retail. However, even though in retail you buy a disk (not a box as in western software retail outlets, though) with a hologram from the state agency for intellectual property protection ("AGEPI"), inside you get the same old bootleg version. And sometimes under a legitimate title you will find some crappy mod, but the box will still be carrying the hologram. So, in short, you're buying legal illegal software.

In fact, I have not seen any legitimate PC game stores in Chisinau (there may be some, but it will be an exception from the general rule). The only legitimate software you can buy will be Microsoft's Windows and Office Suite, as well as some Russian and local professional applications, like the 1C Accounting software etc.

Where does that leave people? Right, either to buy pirated version (paying a price that is below what you'll pay in the US but you can't really expect a Moldovan to pay $30-50 for a game), or go online and download the same for free from a bittorrent network, if internet is available. I can hear you say: but there are online stores that allow downloading legitimate software directly to computer! Yes, there are, and I have used Steam to buy a discounted Orange Box edition (Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 etc.). However, there are two major issues:
1. Prices are the same that a US or EU citizen would pay (while the average salary in Moldova is close to $250 a month); and
2. Some games are not available for download in this part of the world, apparently due to some exclusive regional distribution agreements. This is the main problem I encountered: I can't buy Civilization IV online because I don't live in the US, Canada, Mexico or the UK.

Thus, the only legitimate way to play a licensed PC game in Moldova is to have someone buy it for you in a country where this is easier to do and send it over. But then you have to pay both the price of the game and shipping, which will cost as much as the game itself because you don't want to risk losing it by sending via conventional mail.

And another issue. Windows software costs significantly more than what you could pay in the US. Now, where's the logic? Is Moldova wealthier than the US? Not really! Then why is it easier for me to buy Office or Windows from Amazon and have it brought or sent here than to buy the same from a local distributor? Besides, not all versions of software are available here. Thank Amazon that they accept Moldovan bank cards.

All in all, I blame publishers for high level of software piracy here. A typical Moldovan will not have a bank card with and broadband internet connection, at least there are more people with PCs than with "fat" bank accounts and broadband internet.

As usual, Moldova was bundled into CIS distribution agreements, but no one really cares about selling this stuff in Moldova. Same goes for music, I think.

And an afterword... I tried Linux and OpenOffice to solve the issue with the high price of Microsoft products, but it didn't work for me for two reasons: games don't run smoothly on Linux and I really need the advanced features of Microsoft Office which OpenOffice doesn't support (like VBA).

Brainwashing at a new level

The government (which is run by communists) has announced that they will be promoting a reduction of university admissions and an increase in technical qualifications (such as tractor drivers etc.)

This can only be interpreted as a shaping of future electorate to produce a stupid mob that can be manipulated easily through the media. The communists have witnessed the power of studentship and they don't want this class to gain in power. To give you the scale of this initiative (a translation of a news report): this year the government plans to admit 20,000 students, 5,000 less than last year. Subsequently, admissions are planned to be reduced by 5% per year to reach a cap of 15,000 admissions per year by 2014. Of course, the communists would rather have all people to be ignorant peasants living in villages with just one TV channel and one radio station, just as it has been for the past 60 years.

Reign of Corruption

The constitutional court of Moldova officially approved the ballot results yesterday, despite the opposition's request to delay the decision to allow a little more time to fully process the voter lists to reveal all cases of fraud. At the moment, the opposition has gathered data on 20,000 cases of illegal voting from 25% of total votes. 20,000 votes is 1.3% of all votes. Of course, the constitutional court, which is far from being an independent institution (like all courts in Moldova), denied to satisfy this request and its decision is final and irrevocable, meaning that there are no legal means to reverse it in Moldova. If the constitutional court satisfied this and accepted all the evidence of fraud, a repeated vote would have been announced and communists would most likely be banned from participating! Of course Voronin will not allow this.

Today the European Parliament is supposed to have an extraordinary meeting to hear the opposition representatives from Moldova. I doubt that the EU will be able to change anything.

Apparently, the only way to have new elections for the opposition is to boycott the election of the president (who is elected by 61 votes in the parliament, and communists have only 60). If a president is not elected, the parliament is disbanded and new elections are held.

The prospects are very grim actually. Voronin has successfully tested a method of establishing an illegal authoritarian rule: he apparently rigged the vote; terrorised the population to give up protesting and he had the constitutional court ignore fraud evidence presented by the opposition. At the same time the communists, using their exclusive access to public TV and radio, as well as administrative resources, undertook a heavy two-week political campaign aimed at discrediting the opposition across the whole country and many have bought it. As a result, a new vote may not be in the opposition's interest for two reasons:
1. Having successfully rigged the vote, the communists will be able to do it even better next time, leaving less evidence behind;
2. Some of the voters have believed the communist lies and will grant their votes to them.

Two links

Here are two Moldova-related links:
1. Moldova threatens Europe’s eastern overtures - an article by Nicu Popescu
2. Ca La Moldova documentary - a 60-minute documentary about Moldova (I haven't watched it yet)

Letter to Obama

There is an initiative online to urge the US president to respond to the abuses in Moldova. You can take part too, below are the instructions and the letter (just don't forget to sign it)
================
You can help Moldova in 3 easy steps:
Step 1: Click on http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Step 2: Fill out the form with your information

Step 3: Copy and paste the following letter (the more people do it, the higher our chances):

Mr. President,

I have been following recent events in Moldova and was distressed by the lukewarm response and low coverage they received in the United States. I write to urge you and your administration to act and in no uncertain terms denounce the human right abuses of the Communist government in Moldova.


For the past two weeks hundreds of young Moldovans have gathered in the capital of Chisinau to peacefully demonstrate the irregular and corrupt elections held in the country on April 5. These demonstrators are protesting ongoing suppression, censorship of the press and media, infringement of basic rights to move freely. The Moldovan government, however, engaged in arbitrary retaliation against some young protesters, as recorded by the UN.


Demonstrations against anti-democractic abuses have therefore spurred more serious, unacceptable infringement of human rights, as reported by Financial Times and other leading newspapers. International observers denounced serious breaches of human and constitutional rights committed by the police. The latter arrested at least 400 students, many of whom were peaceful protesters.


These young men were beaten at police stations, imprisoned without access to lawyers, exposed to inhumane and degrading treatment, and forced into confessions. Video reports denounce significant abuses and ongoing violent police behavior. One young man was found dead after having been tortured by the police. Journalists, NGO leaders, and members of the opposition have been harassed and intimidated as well. Citizens are denied access to information as local and international media channels and internet access is being restricted and shut down.


Moldova is on the verge of losing the democratic achievements it made since independence and the international community is doing little to prevent this disaster. I sincerely urge you to make a public statement about the situation in Moldova and denounce human rights violations. In doing so, I ask you to reinforce the credibility of the United States in its commitment to democracy and universal respect for human rights.


FirstName LastName

Hypocrisy

Voronin announced an "amnesty" to all those persecuted by the police for taking part in the protests. However, this is just a lot of bull. Why? Because:
1. Amnesty means that people have been convicted - most don't have any official charges
2. Amnesty means that conviction was legal, while most people had their right to a fair trial severely limited (no access to legal counsel, being forced to sign pre-written statements, judged in blocks of six within police stations - not in courts etc. etc.)
3. Injuries and deaths caused by police cannot be amnestied
4. Persecutions and arrests continue
5. Amnesty is a law that needs to be passed by parliament, which is inactive at the moment.

The Speaker of the Parliament, Marian Lupu (also a communist) declared in an interview for Financial Times that amnesty should apply to "both sides", i.e. not only to the detained, but to the abusive police officers as well, who "reacted emotionally to the injuries sustained by their colleagues" (!). At least he admits that there were abuses on the part of the police. But he also insists that those gestapo-type savages must be forgiven too!

In the meantime, apparently a third victim of police brutality was announced yesterday. Parents were notified by the police that their son had been dead for over a week and because of the advanced stage of decomposition, was put in a sealed casket. Police did not provide a cause or circumstances of death, but the date is April 7.

EU Observer article

Link: EU diplomats trying to verify reports of Moldova abuses

The situation has not become any better yet. Police are still hunting young people and journalists without warrants and beatings continue.

Here is a link to a presentation by one of the opposition parties with preliminary voting fraud investigation results (in Romanian). I will try to get a translated version. The most striking finding is that in just two years the number of voters increased by over 400,000 (or by about 20%), while demographically, the population has been declining (mortality higher than birth rate + migration)

Death toll

A few days ago a young man was buried with signs of a violent death, whose parents weren't announced until three days after his death. The official coroner's report says he died of intoxication with unidentified gas, but huge bruises all over his body, including a bruised cavity on his forehead suggest otherwise.

Yesterday another young man was declared dead. Once again, he was heavily bruised, while the official report says he was electrocuted. Witnesses say his body was literally dumped from a police vehicle near the hospital. The man was returning from Moscow on April 7 and there was no way for him to be participating in the protests as he was heading home, outside of Chisinau.

Journalists quote an unnamed police officer as saying that there are at least three more deaths, as yet unannounced. If the information that hundreds of young people are being detained is true, we may see many more death cases in the coming days and weeks. Some people may never be seen again, I'm afraid.

Security and police have forced the families of the victims to bury them quickly, probably in an attempt to hide the evidence. In this situation, any foreign investigation team (if any) must bring a forensic expert to carry out an exhumation and determine the true causes of death in these cases (and any other that may be revealed).

An article in western media

Here is an article from Le Figaro, in French. An interesting read (I only read Romanian translation).

Still, an occasional article is not enough to help us. I imagine this is more of an exotic story than an issue of concern for Europeans and people in other developed countries. After all, for most of them, Moldova is just another African country like Congo, Rwanda, Ghana etc. The only difference is that our gorillas are well-kept, wear leather jackets, have short haircuts, carry walkie-talkies and work for the secret service.

UN report

Here's an article from the Financial Times about a UN official report on torture:

http://www.euro2day.gr/ftcom_en/126/articles/490410/ArticleFTen.aspx

Where is the West?

It has been a week since violence broke out in Chisinau, followed by mass arrests of young people, which are still ongoing. It is more than obvious that Voronin's regime is being supported by all branches of power, from police to constitutional court and as such there is no legal way to protect the citizens and have democratic elections without impartial, consistent, conscientious and firm outside pressure.

However, none of the usual democracy advocates have spoken out so far: the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United States, or any of the EU members (except Romania). It is clear to me that after last year's war in Georgia and the brief "cold war", they are not interested in spoiling their relationship with Russia, which clearly supports Voronin's regime. As such, we are caught in the middle of the "big boys"' political games. Where does this leave the people of Moldova - those who know that they live in Europe's poorest country, who know they are the least wanted visitors there, who are looked at as a second-class nation by Russia and who desperately want a better life?

The options are limited, as has always been throughout history: either tolerate this indefinitely, providing the dictator with even more confidence, or fight, risking losing many lives in hopes to win. This could probably be avoided if the west took a more pronounced stance on the matter rather than making general statements like "parties must resolve the conflict peacefully" or "violence is bad". What about the more than evident voting fraud and communists' methodical actions to erase all traces? What about hundreds of innocent students held in tiny cells 20 at a time without water and food, denied the right to see parents or have lawyers, who were picked in classrooms or in streets in broad daylight, who are beaten regularly into signing false statements? What about continuing expulsions of foreign journalists? Isn't this worth any effort at all? Why is it that only NGOs and common people care? Or maybe democracy in Moldova is not as important as democracy in Georgia or Ukraine or Russia? I guess different countries desere different kinds of democracy.

I just hope to see the day Vornonin and his cronies are judged for their crimes in a fair trial, unlike the hundreds of young people who may be dying right now in illegal detention centres as the outside world sit on their &^%.

Yes, I am furious - no stupid comments about this please.

Atrocities

The past few days saw a lot of reports about atrocities committed by police and secret services against a large number of young people who took part in protests (and those who didn't).

Here is a link to a blog which contains translations of some of these reports, as well as open letters to western institutions calling for immediate reaction and intervention at the highest level. What you are about to see or read is not for the faint-hearted. Make sure no children are around to see this either.

The link: True Moldova