I have a mask problem here in Paraguay. My brother in Seoul sent my family in Paraguay a couple of masks since we can't find good masks(=the N95 type of masks) here. So, this is what happened.
First of all, South Korea prohibited all export of masks due to the pandemic and citizens can only send masks to families. There is a limit though. You have to take a document that shows your family and you can only send 12 masks per one family member per month and up to 3 months. The KF94, the N95 type, is not cheap in South Korea. Well, it was expensive few months ago when my brother sent them to us. The post officer mentioned that in some countries it is prohibited to receive masks and to check the situation in Paraguay. My brother told me and I talked with the Ministerio de Salud, the CDC in Paraguay, and they told me that I can receive masks, but there are documents to prepare. So, with their confirm, my brother sent the masks.
While the masks were on the way to us, we started to
prepare the necessary documents. We sent an official letter to the Ministerio de
Salud for permission to get our masks. It took about a week which was pretty
fast since it was a mesa de entrada. We took all our personal document with the
permission from the Ministerio de Salud and went to custom in the airport. The
administrator took our documents and checked our masks without my presence
which is illegal. In Paraguay, when a package arrives, no one can check without
the presence of the owner supposedly. Well, I guess this country is full of
illegal actions even in government related offices. He came back saying that we
needed a dispatcher and that we can't take our masks. He even said "Estas mascarillas son
demasiado buenas. Ni siquiera los doctores pueden usar estas acá,"
meaning that the masks are too goo and that not even doctors can find these
kind of masks in this country. I guess this was his way of saying "you
need to pay a propina, a bribe or a tip, to get your masks" but I did not
understand him.
We finally we found a dispatcher and he proceeded the
process by setting the price and we gave him our documents with the permission
from the Ministerio de Salud. They even checked our housing status, so we had
to give him a copy of our house documents. About two weeks later, we called the
dispatcher and he mentioned we have to pay 500.000 guarani extra on top of the
1.000.000 guarani that he charged us. I asked him the reason and he said that
the custom is asking for a bribe. What the hell! I thought he was kidding since
it is for family use and the masks weren’t that many, but apparently he
wasn't.
I decided to give up my masks. But I recently found out that the KF94 masks are sold in the market. And remember those masks are prohibited for export in South Korea. So, my question is where the hell did they get those masks to sell if South Korea does not export KF94 masks? My guess is that those masks that my brother sent to my family are sold in the market by the custom. You see, many families in Korea sent masks to their families abroad and there are so many Koreans in Paraguay whom those masks were sent, but could not receive.
These people are so spoiled and I am disgusted with
the corruption in this country. I was born and raised in this country and left
this country in 2002. Since then nothing changed. Those who work for the
government are the worst thieves. I couldn't believe what I heard from the dispatcher
when he mentioned propina. I realized this country will never change and therefore
never advance. It breaks my heart to say this since still I have many friends
and even my family are still living here. Paraguay needs to do something with
its corruption. Changing people is not a solution. They need to change the
system and be strict with hiring people to work for the government. They should
have a system to send those who commit corruption related crimes to jail.
People need to be smarter and vote for the right person. Don't just stay
silent.
The masks my brother sent were for family use, my
goodness. My father is 76 and my mother 67 with hypertension and diabetes. They need to be protected since they have
to go hospitals on a regular basis and the masks were sent by my brother to
protect them. It was already expensive for my brother to buy and send those
masks. I am truly disgusted and angry. My father actually warned me that this
might happen. I thought my father was exaggerating and believed that this
country can't be that corrupt. I was so wrong.