Boris Bertolt: A Smearer Comes to Town

     Nanje School of Creative Thinking has made it a duty to ensure that the

Jackson W. Nanje

relationship between Cameroonians living in the United States and their Embassy in Washington DC continues to be very cordial. Where there are lapses from the client (Cameroonians), or from service provider (Cameroon Embassy), we at Nanje School of Creative Thinking have made it a duty to correct it. Mr Boris Bertolt, who is quite oblivious of the transformational changes that have occurred at our embassy has spewed on the internet some mind-boggling accusations at the person of the Consular Officer which has vexed us, and has compelled us to address these accusations before the SCNC takes it and fly with it. I will be the first to admit that many years ago, when I wrote my scathing report about how the Cameroon Embassy in Washington DC does business with its clients it was because the situation was very bad and needed to be improved. I did not only stop at laying the blames at the doorsteps of the embassy; I equally suggested ways that the embassy could bring innovative changes to fix these problems. It is often the culture of many Cameroonians who want to see things get better in Cameroon to always point out that which is wrong about my country but never would suggest ways to address the problems. The investigators at Nanje School of Creative Thinking do and see things differently; they have been trained to provide recommendations or ways to not only blame but to ameliorate the situation in a creative approach.

     As a result of the Condemnation and Recommendation Report we made in our 2013 Report, the Cameroon Ambassador, His Excellency Joseph Bienvenue Charles Atangana Foe (recently called to other duties) and his staff summoned an emergency meeting to study the report. The issues at study, which were on our report, were as follows: Poor customer service, delay in delivery and issuance of passport and visas, and highest visa fees comparable to other West and Central African States. For the sake of fairness, we ask that Cameroonians should read our report by clicking on the link http://nanjecreativethinking.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-cameroon-embassy-in-washington-dc_27.html And after reading this blistering report, click on the subsequent report we wrote after visiting the embassy a year later to see for ourselves the improvement that Ambassador Foe and his staff had collectively made, to improve on their lapses. Read for yourself in this report http://nanjecreativethinking.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-cameroon-embassy-in-washington-dc.html

     Boris Bertolt, who lives in France, has made a slandering accusation at the Consular Officer in-charge with the issuance of Visas, Mr Gervais Bindzi, by labelling him as ‘Dangerous Man.’ Here is what he wrote below about this honorable government servant, Bindzi.

CET HOMME EST DANGEUREUX

LES CAMEROUNAIS DES ETATS-UNIS DEMANDENT SON DEPART DE L'AMBASSADE

Cet homme sur l'image s'appelle Gervais Bindzi, responsable du service consulaire de l'ambassade du Cameroun aux Etats-Unis. Les camerounais des Etats-Unis demande son limogeage. Voici le message de trois résidents:

"Un service où tu ne peux joindre personne au téléphone. Quand bien même vous avez la chance d’avoir quelqu’un au bout du fil, c’est avec une insolence caractérisée qu’on vous parle. Un service où les Visas seraient marchandés à des prix variant selon l’urgence si tu as un contact dans son réseau. Le seul service consulaire aux USA ou tu ne peux pas obtenir le Visa avant 7 jours. Pendant ce temps, Mr Gervais Bindzi se pavanne dans tous les maquis et boites de nuit de Washington à chercher les femmes.

Si vous avez votre Papa décédé au Cameroun Lundi, et que l’enterrement est Samedi, vous n’aurez même pas l’occasion de communiquer avec le personnel du service consulaire, vous n’aurez pas de visa, et conséquence: vous n’assisterez pas à l’enterrement de votre père. Voila un exemple de calvaire que subissent les Camerounais des Etats-Unis".[Boris Bertolt]

     Dear Cameroonians, before we unravel this untruthful and unreliable message sent to millions of Cameroonians by a not-so-truthful, not-so-reliable, and untrustworthy individual who is on a self-imposed exile in France, let us know who this Boris Bertolt of man is. Obviously he lives in France and he is an SDF sympathizer who, like all members of the SCNC group, has always spoken ill of every CPDM-led institution. And like all opposition leaders, he offers no solution to what he wants to see change (even as he is unaware that those changes have already occurred) in our beloved fatherland, Cameroon. He does not think thoroughly before he writes. While the SCNC organization is a collector of dirty news, Boris Bertolt is the provider of that dirty news even where none exists, and even at the expense of slandering an innocent man like Gervais Bindzi of the Embassy of Cameroon in Washington DC

Gervais Bindzi (Consular Officer)

who works his heart and soul out to satisfy the many thousands who request for visas, annually.

It will interest Mr Boris Bertolt to know that prior to our award-winning report titled: the Cameroon Embassy in Washington DC and its Problems and what must be done to fix it; Mr Gervais Bindzi is the only staff the Cameroon government sent to Washington DC to handle approximately twenty eight thousand passports (28,000), annually. The job is way too much for an individual to perform; however, this is the arduous task the Cameroon government and Cameroonians expect Mr Bindzi alone to perform night-in, night-out without flaws. The least he expects from us is simply a thank you, even when you silently say it. 

Boris Bertolt (the notorious Smearer)

It will equally excite Mr Bertolt to know that, Mr Bindzi mostly works sometimes very challenging hours---from 9:00AM to 9:00PM five days a week---and on Saturdays from 9:00AM to 2:00PM just because of the need to meet up with the excessive workloads. This is the same man that Mr Bertolt has unreasonably referred to as ‘a Dangerous Cameroonian.’ He owes Mr Bindzi an apology.

It is because of the constantly increasing workload at the desk of the Consular Officer that the CPDM USA has on its Strategic Plan, the expansion of Consular Affairs Offices to cities like Atlanta and Houston, in order to reduce the increasing workload in Washington DC.

   Unravelling the accusation on Mr Gervais Bindzi by Mr Boris Bertolt

To begin with, let us examine the validity of these scathing accusations that Mr Boris Bertolt has heaped at Mr Gervais Bindzi in his above:

a)     That Cameroonians in the United States are asking for his departure---this is simply a fat lie. On the contrary, many Cameroonians are singing his praise for transforming the Consular department at the embassy.

b)    A service that you can’t get through to anyone on the phone---there’s a receptionist who answers all in-coming calls not Mr Bindzi and she informs the caller of what his/her responsibilities are regarding the completion of documents for a visa applications. In most embassies nowadays, document formalities are done online. American Embassy in Cameroon is one such embassy you do not talk to anyone. Do we subject them to the scrutiny we subject the Cameroon Embassy to? No. We, the people, must change our attitude and perception of our government agencies.

c)     That Visas are given out at bargained prices based on who you know----this is indeed shameful and Mr Boris Bertolt is shameless to even write this type of garbage on the internet accusing our embassy of such nonsense. Cameroonians all over the world should reject this rubbish. We must protect our government institutions.

d)    That you cannot receive your visa-stamped passport within seven days of submission----This is smear of the lowest order. Passports are received in less than seven days from the day you post your passport to when you receive it. It is the testimony of a majority of applicants. Mr Boris Bertolt is not an honest man. Quite vindictive.

e)     In cases of emergency, you cannot get any embassy staff to communicate your situation to----The embassy has allocation for emergencies like any other government agencies. When I lost my father, I communicated with Mr Bindzi and he told me to get a death certificate in order to put my passport ahead of others. Because of time difference in my favour, the death certificate was gotten before 2:00PM Cameroon time. So by 9:00AM I was at the embassy with it and a visa was issued. So this is another ill-fated lies told by a notorious liar.

f)      That Mr Bindzi hangs around night clubs and beer parlours---Shame to you. America is not France or Cameroon where maybe government staffs are seen lingering around these places you are cited; this is the United States of America with respectful behaviour expected of Diplomats that Mr Bindzi is. 

          The Cameroon Embassy Mr Boris Bertolt need to know

“Great Transformation of Customer Service at the Cameroon Embassy---A culture of criticism that makes no allowance for praise is a decrepit culture. For years, if not decades, gory stories of rudeness were told about the staff of the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Washington, D.C.  Indeed, each of us must have had one or two negative experiences dealing with that embassy.  The crassness and crudity of some embassy workers, if not officials, had become legendary so much that the shameful stories were whispered in crowded party halls from ear to ear. 

Yes, the criticism of the embassy was fierce and destructive but misdirected.  It was also never really "critical" until one Mr. Jackson Nanje undertook a different approach last year in which he constructively dissected the problems afflicting the embassy and offered suggestions for improvement.

To be sure, I do not know whether Mr. Nanje’s powerful "critical criticism" somehow influenced the transformation that is currently taking place at the embassy, especially in the Consular Section that issues visas.  For months friends and acquaintances have been recounting the sudden transformation they experienced in customer service at the Washington embassy.  To my pleasant surprise, I heard the words: “it is a pleasure to call the Cameroon Embassy.”  I could not believe my ears and asked: You say what?! 

 Even the boldest amongst us dreads dealing with unpleasantness.  I must confess that I very much dreaded calling the embassy because I did not know who would take the call at the embassy’s end of the line.  Yes, the voice was never warm; it was always cold, no matter how nice one pretended to be.  As a defence mechanism, I always preferred instead to adhere to all requirements for an entry visa; (a) a valid passport; (b) two copies of visa application with two 2 x 2 passport size photographs on which background; (c) travel itinerary; (d) copy of yellow fever vaccination card; (e) bank statement if applicable; (f) $145.00 (now $124.00) money order for application and visa fees; (g) and a self-addressed and stamped return envelope (by Federal Express, Priority, or other form of mail that can be tracked).    

 Yes, the Consular Section of the Cameroon Embassy has been transformed into an American institution as it ought to have been all along.  It took the staff of the Consular Section barely one work day to process my visa application.  This, I must confess, is a new normal; and, I hope it will be sustained through time.  I mailed my passport and visa application on Tuesday afternoon; it reached the Consular Section on Thursday morning; and on Monday afternoon the mail man delivered my passport to me at my home in Georgia.

I am elated, even beyond elation; because I take great pleasure in learning about the successes of people as well as institutions.  I cannot, therefore, withhold my admiration for an institution that has made great effort to reform itself and it is palpably succeeding.  We must give praise and encouragement to the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon and spread the good news all the way back to the Fatherland so that Ministries and other government offices might aspire to emulate the work of the Consular Section.” (Professor Emmanuel Konde, ASU, Albany, Georgia 04/14/2014)

     Mr Bertolt gave a smearing indictment of a man that most Cameroonians in the United States are showering praises to for the superb job he has done, and continues to do, in transforming the Consular sector at the Cameroon Embassy with very little human capital at his disposal. The Cameroon Embassy is running efficiently and Mr Gervais Bindzi is an angel in disguise. We thank him for his relentless service to Cameroon.