This entry should have been written towards the end of June, but at the time we were too busy and there was no time for blogging. But since this is the story of our return to Colombia, this is a chapter that has got to be written.
It was Friday, the 25th of June. We had organized with the customs broker (whom was going to deliver all our stuff coming from Australia to our house) to deliver the move first time on Saturday morning. But then we got a call from the managing director of the company to tell us that…. Wait. Not everybody knows our process to try and bring our things to Colombia.
When we made the decision to return, we decided to move back only the most important stuff. Why? Because bringing household items back to Colombia (and especially from Australia) is unbelievably expensive. First, Colombian law specifies a levy of almost 30% (15% flat tax and 14% VAT) on the valuation of the items. Additionally there are clear –though arbitrary (for example, one can bring three a/c units, but only one computer, one typewriter (seriously?), or one TV set)- rules on what items a Colombian citizen trying to reside back in the Country can brought in. I naively thought wanting to come back to “chip-in” for the country was an idea supported by the government. Someone even told me there was actual policy on trying to bring back to Colombia “runaway brains”. But it was not correct. The letter of the law reads like every citizen trying to come back is trying to smuggle household items into the Country. Colombia has a culture of evading the law and that makes you feel treated as a potential criminal for following the rules and regulations. In here one is guilty until proven otherwise. Why would someone –after living overseas for over two years- want to smuggle some second hand items in? Wouldn’t it be possible people were trying to continue with their lives? Anyway, there was also the fact that finding information about moving back to the country was a challenge. The consulates don’t really help, information is scarce, difficult to understand and, sometimes, even contradictory. Second, shipping stuff into the country is very expensive. About US$1,000 –by sea- per cubic meter from Sydney to Bogota, and an important part of the freight was the Buenaventura (a seaport in the Pacific Ocean) to Bogota leg.
Therefore, we decide to sell or give away most of our stuff and chose to bring only what had sentimental value or what was going to make the girl’s settling easier. Travel mementos, books, pictures, almost all of Emma’s bedroom, presents received, toys, etc. If it was valuable to us it was in one of the thirteen boxes. If it wasn’t it was left back in Australia. And then, after the priceless help of our friend Gloria to have everything safely packed, on March 20th the company picked up the move from our house in Sydney. ETA into Bogota: End of May.
Our stuff actually made it into Buenaventura at the end of May. After going through the customs inspection and nationalization process (essentially payment of the levy) the shipment was ready to be sent to Bogota on June 20th. As the presidential elections were held on June 21st across the country, the broker decided –for security reasons- to delay transport for a few days. And on June 24th the truck left Buenaventura towards Bogota, where it was expected about noon on the 25th. And it did made it to Bogota: a couple of kilometers inside the city a group of people wearing army uniforms stopped the truck, dropped off the driver and stole it. And with it all of our stuff; it made a 15000 Kilometer trip to be lost four or five kilometers from its destination.
This is where we go back to the call from the manager of the customs broker. It was Friday afternoon and we were driving into a local mall when the mobile rings and she tells us the news. Our reaction? Baffled first, then incredulity and some anger, followed by deep sadness and helplessness. Who would want to steal our clothes? Where will our wedding pictures going to end up? Are they going to use the girls’ cot? Etc. Also, is someone going to use our documents to commit some type of fraud? (Every confidential piece of paper was in one of the boxes) . We only wanted to come back to help, hopefully make a difference. That is why we ask: Does anyone have an idea of why this happened to us?
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