Item — HN Reader

> in such an economy the majority of workers will be glad to take a bribe

> gesturing to our cameras, making a meaningful pat of his wallet inside his pocket

> It might have been the presence of the work crew that deterred this man ... Perhaps the team of workers were looting the place

I really hate this attitude, this feeling of superiority that because you're in a poorer country and you're rich and entitled you just go there and bribe people to satisfy your misery tourism. They wouldn't do this in say, London, but because it's some poor country it's cool to even brag about it.

And not only that, they assume everyone is up for a bribe and even when they refuse it's because of some even bigger scam happening.

3 comments

Fact of the matter is that bribery is common in many places, and, yes, often those places are poorer countries.

Regardless, I think your judgment of the author is a little harsh. They even acknowledge and question their assumed superiority in the very next paragraph, which I think is refreshingly honest:

> Of course, it was equally possible that the guard simply wouldn’t accept a bribe on moral grounds – and as we walked back to the car, I wondered whether it said more about me or about him, that this possibility only came as an afterthought.

I agree but think the only issue here is the use of the word “bribe.” Some places have a culture of paying “grease money” to get things done.

This is common behavior in poor areas with little tourism simply because no formal system for officially visiting exists and people do not earn enough to survive. These small payments are not seen as “bribes” in the western sense.

For example I just visited Guinea in Western Africa. On my first day I visited the Grand Mosque. There was no ticket booth or tour guide. Instead I had to pay “big boss,” a guard who showed us around.

I then went to the botanical gardens, which as it turned out had been turned into a military post. An unofficial tour was offered and of course payment was expected.

At the airport, security staff also asked for money. This was refused.

All of these things happened in plain view. I wouldn’t view it in the same light as paying a bribe, though westerners make no distinction. “Courtesy payment” or “tip” are not correct, either, but probably more accurate than “bribe.”

Tribune?

The London bribery rates are higher. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65077273