When we organize a community event, we always imagine the smiles, the chilling, and the positive energy of the day. What we don't count are those small battles behind the backstage - the stories that turn all the event even more significant. And that's exactly what I lived when I tried to withdraw the CHAPA BCH Meetup merchandise.
All began when my friend in the Netherlands sent the BCH promotional kit for the event. Following the Netherlands post office, the merchandise would arrive in Mozambique between Dec. 1-19, and fortunately it arrived on Dec. 4. On the same day the courier called me, and on Friday, Dec. 5 I ran to pick up the goods.
And here is where I started to feel that my journey was just starting.
During COVID-19 times, picking up a package at the post office for international goods was simple: the product arrived, you signed and took it. All with zero taxes. Today, that reality changed. Upon my arrival I was informed that nowadays all international packs coming from abroad need to be paid, depending on kgs and provenance. I was shocked but "what the hell, I am already here, why not comply".
I paid the fee that was around 420 Meticals (around $6) while I was thinking to myself "all good, this I can handle".
But that was nothing compared with what the Customs were about to do with me. And there I almost gave up.
The Customs official who attended me started to do some weird maths. Very weird ones, and in the end told me that all the duties to pay were more than 5,000 Meticals. That is around $70. That hit me so hard that I almost gave up taking the merchandise on the same day. After all, that is domestic material, not for business but for community use. I tried to explain to the officer but it was here where I saw the real and cruel reality of our system: manipulation and corruption.
That officer didn't look at any official table to check the real price to pay or in which category the goods are placed. He just shot a value that suited him and I had to pay. According to him I was paying 34% for what my friend paid to send the goods to Mozambique. Just imagine, 34%...
I was pissed with all of that and I abandoned the postal building. I needed the material but there was no way I could afford that amount. I contacted my friend, explained the situation and he understood it as he had a similar situation in Peru, and sent me some BCH. That was a P2P transaction: fast, transparent, without abusive fees and no intermediaries.
With the BCH in hand I did my diligence and in a few minutes got the Metical, went back to the postal building, paid them and took my merchandise without further chats to avoid more stress to my head.
When I opened the package: wow, the material is impeccable. All in perfect condition, with t-shirts, caps, socks, BCH stickers and even a Paytaca brochure. Now we have some material to give a go to our CHAPA BCH Meetup on Dec. 20.
All this story of the post office here in Mozambique left an alert: while traditional systems want to complicate, delay and charge what they shouldn't, Bitcoin Cash solves. Simple, direct, fast and without corruption.
Now we are on to the CHAPA BCH Meetup on Dec. 20 - and yet, we still need more support in BCH, promotional material and all that can fortify the BCH Mozambican movement.
AFTER all, this is just the beginning of a chapter of what really matters: build, educate and show that the future of money is already here.
Feel free to support us here:
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And together let’s push Bitcoin Cash further in Mozambique, strengthen our meetup, and bring even more people into real rides, real payments, and real adoption powered by BCH.
