The Scarves Are Free!

I traveled back to Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday morning, paperwork (that I didn’t understand) in hand, hopeful I wouldn’t return home empty handed like the last two times there. The first person I saw at the Customs & Border Protection window said, “Oh, it’s you again.” Not an encouraging sign. Soon though the lady who had patiently worked with me last week appeared and said, “Let’s see what we can do. Come sit over here.”

I’m referring to 193 silk scarves I brought back from Cambodia earlier this month. Ladies at the church in Lveasar made them for us to sell and raise money to build a large bathroom for the Hope for Cambodia Orphanage. (They currently have four commodes - a luxury there - and two showers for 69 children and four house moms. And those don’t work so well when the Mekong River floods during the rainy season.)

What I didn’t know when I flew into the U.S. with the scarves was that they needed correct paperwork and labeling. So for your safety, they were held under bond (whatever that means) by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP). Last Wednesday morning I returned to Bush Airport and began the process of traveling from office to office, filling out paperwork, and labeling the scarves. When I finished, it was dark and the offices were closed.

But Monday was a new day so back I went. The kind lady at CBP began the checklist:

Did you label all the scarves?        Check
$1000 Customs Bond?                   Check
Cargo Post Manifest?                     Check
Entry Summary?                             Check

Occasionally she would ask something like, “Why is this written this way?” My answer was always, “I don’t know. I don’t understand any of this!” Then she’d say something like, “We’ll work it out.” Then I would exhale.

I’ll skip the rest of the details. Eventually she gave me a paper stamped: Cleared Customs. I paid a paper work fee and headed to the Continental Airlines Cargo Facility – the place I spent hours labeling the scarves last week. I presented the paperwork and paid a holding fee. Then finally I was reunited with the suitcase still bearing the orange label warning Two years’ imprisonment and/or $5000 fine for anyone removing it without proper paperwork!

Anybody want to buy a scarf?

Greg