One day at justice department!
Today I had to go to the justice department to extract a certificate that I am clear of any court sentences. This was the first time my fingerprints are taken. I have to say that this was very interesting, and I was laughing all the time the lady officer was taking my prints; once she finished, I had to take the document for security officers to audit and verify on their systems that I have no records. When I was done, I was told that I have to wait for an hour for the paper to be signed by the judge.
I sat there waiting and watching people around me running from one window to another to follow up on their work.
There was a bearded guy sitting in the waiting area and reading Quran out loud; at least loud enough to be heard by those sitting around him. Don’t get me wrong; I respect his choice and it is great that he was reading Quran, but I think that he should have been quieter because no one was listening; everyone was busy doing something and no one paid attention when we all know that when Quran is being read out loud, we must listen carefully and this was not valid.
This same bearded guy chose to come my way and tell me that I should not be sitting where I was because the waiting area was segregated; apparently I was sitting in the men’s section though I was not the only one, and the women’s section had men sitting in it as well because they wanted to be close to their female relatives they came with. This guy was ogling me and saying: you are in the men’s section, there is one for women. I looked around me and saw that both sections had men and women sitting and waiting, so why on earth did he choose me to dismiss from the men’s holy waiting area? Could it be that I was the only one there without a male chaperon? No idea!
I said: what seems to be the problem? There are other women waiting here and men waiting there. What is your problem?
He ogled me again piercing me with his eyes, twisted his mouth, mumbled something I could not figure out and turned his back to me and walked away to sit in the other part of the waiting room.
I could hear different accents around me because there were other nationals trying to extract the same document I was. Lots of procedure and the officers behind glass windows were really gloomy and seemed bored with everything. It was obvious that these guys needed to drink some coffee or tea, or maybe consume some sugar to boost their energy levels but eh, it is Ramadan and we have to take what we get.
Why do they need stamps? Why does any document need stamps? What is the big deal? I have heard the word stamps more than I appreciate; the officers kept yelling: stamps, you need stamps.
Some of the guys down there really looked like convicts, some looked suspicious. On the other hand; some were tired, some were grumpy and complaining, some were patiently waiting and I was there writing in my notepad to blog later 
Sitting in that room with all these people around felt like being downtown; people from different ranks and walks of life were gathered there for the same purpose.
I really hate it when men were rings; they are neither classy nor stylish. The only ring a man should be wearing is his wedding ring. Today; I have noticed that a lot of men choose to wear rings with stones, colored stones; this was both annoying and interesting. I also noticed that along with the ring; they have long fingernails, especially the little finger and that can be one of the ugliest things ever; why do they do that?
Veiled women love glittering head covers which are not even suitable for daily wear. Also high heels are odd when you have to stand in line for long periods or run around from one place to another, and I really still cannot comprehend the extra tight clothes, especially for veiled women; it just does not look right or good!!!
It was very hot, both outside and inside, yet a lot of people were wearing heavy clothes. It is true that it rained a couple of days ago, but it is not that cold yet, is it??
There was a kid there; who brings a child along for such a task? She was really annoying and crying most of the time; I felt sorry for her and her parents and for the rest of us for having to cope with the noise.
My experience was finally coming to an end; a guy came in with a pile of papers in his hand; they finally got the paper signed and I could not leave and go back to the office.
As I rode the cab back to the office; I noticed that the cab driver was a nut case; he was eating from a potato chips bag and was dancing to a song in the radio. As he was dancing; the car did too, it swayed from one side to another and he could have made at least a dozen accidents along the way, but thank God we made it safely
October 17th, 2006 at 4:15 am
so,Khalida ,can we be sure now that were not convicted for any fellons
October 17th, 2006 at 4:30 am
Wallah ya Salam … it looks like it
I have a paper with stamps to prove it … LOL
October 17th, 2006 at 5:32 am
I like earrings
October 17th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Yow , u ‘ve been taggged check it here http://hotice130.blogspot.com/2006/10/picture-tag.html
CheeerZ!
October 17th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I went there a year ago, preparing my immigration documents, then I was telling myself “don’t worry, this will be your last time here, when you go to Australia things will be different there”, after coming and reading your post, you reminded me of this “beautiful memoir” I mean being in Justice Department, everything I hated in the past, enjoy it now
October 17th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
This is the funniest thing ever. I could totally picture the whole scene, cause it happened to me once… MAN I AM JUST DYING IN MY SEAT NOW.. Walahi I sort of miss Amman !
October 18th, 2006 at 12:17 am
Film Hindi
mish 3aib 3aleke ya khokha to23ody 3nd elrjal ?! :/
October 18th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
WELL, AS FOR THE UGLY LONG NAIL ON THE SMALL FINGER SOME IDIOTS USE IT FOR PICKING THEIR NOSES. FOR MEN WITH RINGS NOWADAYS I DON’T SEE ANY NEED FOR THEM AS IN OLD TIMES THEY USED THEM TO STAMP ON THEIR LETTERS AND SO ON. UNFORTUNATELY NOWADAYS SOME OF THESE SOFTY MALES WERA THEM LIKE WOMEN DO.
COMING TO THAT PAPER YOU WERE THERE FOR, I WONDER WHAT ITS ORIGIN? AND STAMPS ARE REMAINES OF OCCUPIERS LAWS AND WE STILL ADHERE TO THEM, I HATE THESE STAMPS!
REAL GOOD POST KHOKHA
October 19th, 2006 at 9:20 am
In Egypt, we have to do this every time we apply for a job. As a male, I also had to get two sets of fingerprints done; one for the police and the other for the army.
The process is, in my opinion, relatively painless here. You go to the post office and buy the “Namoozag” (All our official papers that have to be filled in, whether you’re applying for something or whatnot, are called Namoozags followed by a series of numbers and possibly letters.
So you buy that for almost 5 Egyptian pounds (which is almost 1 US Dollar) and then you head to your police station (Price includes the requisite stamp which the guy sticks to the back of the paper). Inside my police station (which is a hub of activity as it includes quite a number of offices – as are all Cairo/Giza Police Stations) you head towards this remarkably small office where there are two desks and one chair for visitors or whatever.
A middle aged woman (could be a man, but it’s a woman at my station) takes the paper ensuring that you’ve filled it out properly and then you wait. What are we waiting for? Well, the dude who’ll take your prints.
And man, is he fast. He puts your hand on this special ink thing which, according to him, Egypt is quite behind on, and then on the paper (He says that we have better ink but the government isn’t releasing the shipments to the Police Stations). There is a place for every finger-tip (and thumb) of each hand and a larger place for the whole four fingers of each hand.
The man then gives you some tissue which has been dipped in gasoline and tells you to wipe your hand (and you need to… the ink is a bitch to remove otherwise and yet it stains anything you touch if you don’t remove it). You, er, “improve his current financial situation” (as is the custom) and he tells you to come the next day at 2 pm with a passport photo and your National ID.
That’s about it really.
The Military requires you to do FOUR of these (on their own special Namoozags). I am still awed by how quick the man manages to move your hand across ink and then roll it just right on the paper.
They make it seem like an art… though obviously not the type of art that they are connoisseurs of
October 21st, 2006 at 12:35 am
Moey,
Nah … jewllery is for women … both rings and earrings
Dar,
Thank you for the tag … I answered it
Eyad,
That’s another way to look at things .. a rather optimistic one which is not bad at all … I still hate stamps, men with long fingernails and rings
Lina,
I am glad I could make you laugh … and yeah I missed Amman when I lived abroad … guess we all do
7ala,
Shofti ballah? He chose me of all other ladies there … maybe because I was the only one without a guy sitting next to me so he thought he could intimidate me … who knows?
Abdullah,
Hmmm … not a nice image you left us with there
I agree about the stamps thing … this definitely needs to go away …
I needed the paper for employment purposes and that’s normal … but I do not know the history of the paper itself …
Faisal,
LOL @ namoozag
You really made me laugh … the form that was used for my prints was exactly the same as you described and my hands were smudged with ink .. but luckily I had some wet wipes that did the trick even before I left the room