I’ll tell you what, it is dangerous to be a receipt in Rumbek! Over the past three days of training whenever I mentioned something about receipts (which was a lot), someone’s hand would shoot up with a question/accusation about how ridiculous this khwaja was to think they could submit receipts to me. They started by insisting that they couldn’t get receipts in Sudan, which after questioning they admitted was only true in the most rural areas and that they would still be able to get a signed something to document a purchase. In reality, everyone and their mom has a receipt book. A receipt book and an AK-47 are about all you need in the new Sudan. That point defeated, they launched into some more creative questioning.
“Stevan! I am really doubting. What will you do if my home is caught in a fire and all the receipts are burned!?!”
About 10 minutes after I responded to that question, another hand shot up.
“Yes, but Stefano, you do not know Rumbek. Here I must take a motorbike many miles to bring receipts to your office. And here the rain is so, so serious! What if the receipts are washed- washed COMPLETELY!?!”
After another stab at essentially the same answer, but with a riff on the usefulness of plastic bags, I continued for only a few minutes before someone else had a burning question.
“But things are VERY dangerous in Rumbek, Stevanin. There is really so much insecurity. And these men on the roads will take everything you have! They will not remove the receipts!”
Well, I didn’t want to be totally heartless, but I did remind him that it was not the method through which the receipts were destroyed that was the compliance issue. Then there was this gem:
“What if there is only one staff who keeps the receipts and he DIES so sudden! How then will we find the receipts to give them to you?”
Man, come to think of it, it’s not just dangerous to be a receipt in Rumbek- it’s dangerous to be a person who keeps receipts! I better get my butt back to Juba and submit my travel liquidation fast!
-Stephanie
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