InsideOut Travel—Bribing Your Way...

by Amy Loftsgordon

I’ve heard that in Thirld World countries bribery is a way of doing business. What’s your experience and what do I need to know?

—Sent via e-mail by Xavier Riotte, Montreal.

Well, offering a bribe in a third world country is a lot like asking someone out on a date—you hope that the other person accepts with a smile and that you haven’t read the signals completely wrong.

Bribery situations are most likely to occur in countries where there is a great disparity of wealth and power among its citizens and officials. The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2003 (CPI) charts levels of corruption in various countries. Last year, it ranked 133 countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.


	Bribing Your Way Out of Sticky Situations
	by Amy Loftsgordon I’ve heard that in Thirld World countries bribery is a way of doing business. What’s your experience and what do I need to know? —Sent via e-mail by Xavier Riotte, Montreal. Well, offering a bribe in a third world country is a lot like asking someone out on a date—you hope that the other person accepts with a smile and that you haven’t read the signals completely wrong. Bribery situations are most likely to occur in countries where there is a great disparity of wealth and power among its citizens and officials. The Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2003 (CPI) charts levels of corruption in various countries. Last year, it ranked 133 countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.				The CPI centers on corruption in the public sector and defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. As a result of its studies and surveys, CPI has determined that the countries where officials are most likely to separate you from your cash are: Bangladesh, Nigeria, Haiti, Paraguay, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Georgia, Cameroon, Azerbaijan, Angola, Indonesia and Kenya. I first encountered bribery circumstances in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park several years ago. Amboseli lies at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, and is one of Kenya's most popular national parks. It lies approximately 240 km southeast of Nairobi and is very close to the Tanzania border. “He began screaming that it was illegal to take pictures of the anti-poaching soldiers, waved his rather large gun about .” What I Learned from Movies I was traveling on a four-day safari along with my boyfriend, two sisters from California and a Dutch couple. The word safari means “journey” in Swahili but it is certainly interpreted differently by the various tour operators in East Africa. Our beat-up Nissan minivan smelled like Kenyan cigarettes and was lacking in air-conditioning, operable windows, and any kind of reasonable comfort. more>> << home
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JUST THE FACTS

Bribing Your Way Out of Sticky Situations

by Amy Loftsgordon