New I.D.

There is a new I.D. card in Syria now; smaller, colored and fits in any wallet. It takes normally few months to get it done. I have no clue why. It must be something related to “national security” as usual. On the other hand if you are a Syrian coming to visit for a limited time, it will be released in a week. Why on earth they can release it in a week when needed and not for everyone. Lots of bureaucracy here.
Of note that I forgot the new photos I got in Damascus before coming here, in addition to the camera, my passports, and possibly other things. I had to wait for them to be sent, as I liked it a lot (I will try to get a digital copy of it). Once I got them I went to the “Saraya” which is the equivalent of the city hall, or federal offices. The Saraya is a very old building in the Saha (or square) of Safita. I was told to go upstairs for the new I.D. application. There were around fifty people standing behind a black iron door that opens every now and then. I had no clue whether this was a prison door or something else (but it seems something else). The fifty were not, of course, standing in a line as in Syria the shortest way between A and B is through a chaotic crowd. All of them had no direct business that they have to do in front of the door, and were waiting only to be called and receive their new I.D. They may not be totally blamed as there are no marked lines, no seats, and no rules to abide by… at least yet.
I felt overwhelmed and returned without even asking a single question. Next day my aunt suggested we go close to the end of working hours when everyone is gone and business is slow, and it was. We asked for the application guy, who was wandering a bit outside his office (or his one out of ten desks in what can be called an office), after which he came. The application was filled quickly, by hand. We promised to bring the passport later so they can start the process quicker (supposedly I am here for a limited time and have to go abroad soon). I haven’t seen yet a single sign of modern technology (except for light bulbs that Edison invented… a hundred years ago).
There were two other documents that we had to do. Finding the clerk in charge was also difficult… I could find a clerk easily but finding the right one can be tricky. So I was told to go after the lady in red (I thought of Chris De Burgh) who was, also, wandering outside (all these clerks are just bored to death, killing time now and hoping no one like me would show up for business). The lady was actually in orange, are she redirected me to three other clerks (before we eventually ended up at her booth).
One of the clerks had to dig into civil records. You must have guessed by now that those records are on paper, hand written and very, I mean reaaaaaaaaaaally very old (almost mummified). The poor guys who had their records at the bottom of the first few pages may not exist, or have any evidence of existence, because the papers are worn, torn, or eaten by moth.
The “lady in red” filled the from; hand written again. And because it was meant to be used abroad it had to be typed, and typing takes place outside the Saraya. How much intelligence it takes to plug a computer and design a program that prints out the paper needed without having to waste valuable time in this? Unbelievable. Anyway, I was looking at the booth and there was a sign, guess what… hand written, that says Marriage and underneath it another word that was sloppily scratched. What happened to good metal title plates, or computer generated signs? Again, unbelievable.
Outside the booth, in the hallway, three or four women sit (clerks who have nothing better to do, waiting for 3:30 PM). They were chatting, laughing, and… throwing unripe grapes on each other in what is supposed to be a government and public building. The some grapes get squashed by people passing by tinting the ground with a beautiful green color.
I smirked and sneered, but cried inside. I tried to look up the word “civilization” in the dictionary but couldn’t find it. Until when then?? And I am still crying.