Can a camel fly?

The worldwide postal services are considered one of the most important services as they play important roles in communications both inside a country and between different countries.

In most Western countries, people are not obliged to stand in long lines to pay fees, fines, bills or other amounts due. Students deposit tuition fees in post offices and drivers cited for traffic violations or wishing to renew their driving licenses do likewise.

This saves time, effort and minimizes the bother of routine and bureaucracy existing in government departments. Why do people in the developed world so appreciate their postal services?

There is no magic or miracle behind their attitude. It lies in dependability, efficiency, and reliability. In fact, these give the public confidence and allow them to trust and depend upon the post office.

What about the Arab world? The level of service, dependability and performance in the Arab world compels us to wonder and question the shortcomings of so vital a service.

Letters taking a month or more from one city to another or three months from Cairo to Jeddah or letters that are lost or delivered to the wrong address are not the only problems. I am not the only victim of these poor services nor, sadly, will I be the last.

In spite of many articles written about poor postal services, no improvements have been made so far. And would you believe that I have once again become a victim of poor post office services?

A few weeks ago I received a notice from my credit card company that a fine had been imposed on me for failing to pay my bill on time.

When I checked on the matter, I found out that I had sent the payment but a delay in delivery of mail was the direct cause of the problem.

Fortunately, I was able to solve the problem with the credit card company and prevent them taking legal action against me.

Let us suppose, however, that the company had sued me. Would I have been able to sue the Ministry of Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT) and seek compensation for its negligence which had damaged my reputation? Can a camel fly?