bu r eauc r atic s

bu r eauc r atics

Jan banning

Nazraeli Press

number 3 ofParr/Nazraeli edition of 10

Bureaucratics: An Introduction

by Will tinnemans

Working on Bureaucratics, we sometimes felt like the police inspector forced to commit a crime to solve a

murder. trying to unmask the face of a bureaucracy means running into many a bureaucratic obstacle. the

process of acquiring permission to photograph and interview civil servants involves in many countries a

bureaucracy in and of itself.

the Liberian capital of Monrovia was during our visit in 2006 just awakening from the violent night-

mare of fifteen years of civil war. sleazy officials left us waiting for days before leading us into a labyrinth

of which they themselves didn’t know the way out either. they ushered us out with an expensive little ac-

creditation card that provided access mainly to empty offices and that, in any case, we learned during a visit

with the assistant secretary for information, turned out to be fake.

in siberia, russia, bureaucratic chieftains evidently are still possessed by the soviet spirit. every visit

to a government agency was preceded by a lengthy monologue by the department head, who effortlessly

reeled off numbers, weights, heights, depths and widths in his field. in each city in the chinese province of

shandong, we paid again and again with never-ending lunches and dinners for the permission to visit gov-

ernment offices. excessive numbers of toasts involving a drink appropriately named rocket fuel sealed what

seemed to be friendships for life. but the next day, the now-sober bureaucrat erected a cardboard façade the

likes of which would have made Prince Grigori alexandrovich Potemkin jealous.

in Yemen’s stunningly beautiful capital sana’a we were stuck for four consecutive mornings to Nauga-

hyde vinyl cushions in the Pr manager’s office at the Ministry of information. the assistant secretary for

some reason refused to sign our travel permits. a simple display of power? Fear that we would make his

country look ridiculous? Or was he waiting for a bribe? We will never know, but these kinds of incidents did

teach us early on how the bureaucracy in a particular country operates.

What possesses two people – a photographer and a writer – to visit thousands of government officials in

eight countries spread across the globe? the idea for Bureaucratics is rooted in experiences and irritations

with the bureaucratic process but also in the fascination with the unfazed manner in which tens of millions

of officials worldwide keep the wheels of government spinning.

the German sociologist Max Weber, in his monumental 1922 book Economy and Society, demonstrated

how a state should design its agencies and offices to approach the enlightenment ideals of justice and equali-

ty. Not that everyone has applied his prescriptions or accepted the limitations they put on both the citizenry

and those in power. in developing countries, but also in the West, we regularly hear or read about scandals

involving corruption and abuse of power. still, bureaucratic arbitrariness, especially in the Western world,

has been kept in check more than ever in history. but government institutions that treat citizens regardless

of their standing inevitably also confront these citizens with objective criteria, protocols and procedures.

and in many countries, on a daily basis, such bureaucratic means gets the adrenaline flowing. Verbal abuse

or even physical violence against civil servants is the result sometimes of the helplessness experienced by

citizens “simply picking up a permit”. they have to complete piles of documents, submit themselves to

inspections and audits and, adding insult to injury, pay substantial fees. For many citizens, bureaucracy is,

therefore, unequivocally and nothing but a pain in the ass.

this book is not about all these citizens and their big and small irritations. Bureaucratics hones in on

the typically anonymous civil servant who, anywhere in the world, makes up a small cog in the gigantic ma-

chinery of the state. Like the man in the province of bihar in Northern india, who is appointed to reserve

a room in the state-owned bihar House for his fellow civil servants who on official duty have to visit New

Delhi, the capital of india. Or the revenue official in smell-no-taste, who still tries to pluck a few feathers

from the bare chicken that is Liberia after fifteen years of civil war. the sheriff who, picking his nose with

b: a. i.-01 of 03 [utr., Wt (b. 1959)]

Foreword

by Martin Parr

if rigour is the new watchword for contemporary photography, then Jan banning and his collaborator, the

writer Will tinnemans, supply it by the bucket load and must be masters of this art. receiving permission

to shoot portraits of bureaucrats is in itself an achievement, when you consider the countries they decided

to visit: india, Yemen, bolivia and others. i would not know where or how to start. so they get the go ahead,

and then banning shoots many portraits, the best of which we see here. While banning is setting up the

shot, tinnemans is starting his interview. He also then rigorously accumulates much information about the

country, the salary, all kinds of details, and presents it here for us to digest and enjoy. i am exhausted just

thinking about this.

Flicking through these pages, you can sense all the hard work and dedication that has been employed in

this process. the sense of commitment that emanates through these photographs makes them so compelling.

We learn about the bureaucrats, the countries they work in and their attitude to their work. We also learn

how stacks of files, or even mess, can look so attractive. We delight in the different approaches evident in

the accumulated portraits. One can flick through these pages without having to make appointments to see

these people, and God knows how difficult that might be.

i also enjoy the poses that banning has achieved with his portraits. the sitters’ faces display a kind of

resignation. they may be proud of their jobs, but they also know the job can be tedious. there are subtle

differences to be found in each country where he has photographed, and these are brought to our attention.

Perhaps banning’s greatest achievement is that he has taken what may appear to be a pedestrian topic

and brought it to life. banning and tinnemans leave us with a document that is both illuminating and

entertaining, confronting bureaucracy – a subject we would all prefer to avoid.

b: f.-01 of 01 [Lon., MP (b. 1952)]

two fingers, keeps order in sparsely populated crockett county, texas. the moral crusader in tianping

town, who teaches villagers in his district norms and values to assure the future survival of the colossus

that is the chinese state.

Who are they, really, the millions of government servants who keep state institutions marching along? Does

their work environment mirror the state they serve, or is their office an extension of their personality and

individual values? Does a peek behind the screen confirm the stereotype of the civil servant as a glutton for

dossiers, or does he day in, day out cut a swath through the paper chaos? is the prosperity of a nation evident

in the offices of a state’s servants, for instance in the means they have at their disposal?

an answer to such questions can shine a clear light on “the civil servant”, we thought at the start of this

project in 2003. Moreover, by making dozens of portraits in several countries of officials within the execu-

tive branch, including the police, the project would provide an international comparison. Obviously the

police officer in india wears a different uniform than his colleague in bolivia, and the texas official is better

equipped than his Liberian equivalent. but are there also noticeable similarities between civil servants from

different countries?

the nations selected were spread over different continents, and within those countries we consistently

focused on one, maybe two, specific regions, departments, provinces, states or whatever form the admin-

istrative and governmental entity took. We didn’t succeed in formulating an air tight rational for which

countries to select for Bureaucratics, but we nevertheless had no trouble justifying for ourselves the eventual

lineup.

india (bihar, 2003) is the largest democracy in the world. Does its administrative system indeed func-

tion as a democracy, we wondered, and is british colonial rule still visible in the way the country is gov-

erned? russia (siberia, 2004) since the presidency of boris Yeltsin is well on its way from a centralized,

planned economy to capitalism. What is the attitude of government officials in a country with such a recent

history of authoritarian rule, and has the transition to capitalism put an end to the communist era’s cult of

personality? bolivia (Potosí, 2005) has of all the south-american countries the highest percentage of am-

erindian residents. can that majority be traced in the make up of the officialdom, or do the descendants of

the spanish rulers after five centuries still call the shots?

Liberia (Monrovia and several interior regions, 2006) under the leadership of president ellen John-

son-sirleaf is crawling out of a bloody civil war. What is left of a state apparatus in a country torn apart by

conflict, and what means are available to officials to serve the state? France (auvergne and Picardie, 2006)

is the republic that since the French revolution has wanted to guarantee Liberté, Égalité and Fraternité to

all its subjects and – certainly since Napoleon – is the cradle of european bureaucracy. What does such

a balanced, modern bureaucracy look like? Yemen (central Yemen, 2006) is an islamic country without

separation between church and state in which a central authority didn’t develop until relatively recently.

can an administration function when men are active only between 10 a.m. and noon and chew qat the rest

of the day?

the united states (texas, 2007) is known as the most powerful country in the world. Do american of-

ficials express their pride in the government offices where they spend an important part of their life? china

(shandong, 2007), the Middle Kingdom, has the highest number of citizens of all the world’s countries.

already in the days of confucius, its administration functioned relatively well. since late 1949, the state has

been organized according to communist creed, even though since the 1980s the principles of Marx, engels

and Mao have been applied less strictly to the economy. How does an administration that is not elected

democratically serve 1.3 billion chinese?

in the end, two countries fell off. cuba is a communist country that still has a centrally planned econ-

omy and where the state penetrates society’s most minute nooks and crannies. For four years we angled for

permission to work in the land of Fidel castro, but during a visit to Havana in the fall of 2007, it became

clear that cuban authorities were unwilling to grant us the freedom necessary to profile a few dozen civil

servants. We thought the Vatican would add a certain richness to the project because the roman-catholic

administrative structure and church law presented an early form of government authority in europe. We

managed to make substantial inroads into the Vatican’s bureaucracy, but the death of Pope John Paul ii in

2005 caused all contacts and informal promises to go up into thin air. We did consider the united Nations

as the supranational bureaucracy, but a 2006 visit to u.N. headquarters in New York failed to show the pho-

tographer how u.N. officials’ dull, uniform, impersonal cubicles could justify more than a single shot.

if the officials portrayed here in their work environment come across as natural, a large part of our mission

has succeeded. after all, we wanted to show bureaucracies as the average citizen encounters them when he

stops by for a permit, to view an archival document, pay taxes or file a report with the police. the photog-

rapher opted for a tight concept and composition with a parallel arrangement of visual objects, an approach

in which connoisseurs will recognize Dutch masters such as Johannes Vermeer and Piet Mondrian.

already during our first trip, to india, we noticed that officials about to be photographed tend to soak

and polish their office as if it were the royal bathroom. to prevent this, we caught them off guard. We first

met with the highest official in the government building. almost always we received permission to inspect

all office spaces. based on the individual behind the desk, the decoration of the space and light conditions

and other technical criteria, the photographer determined whether there were suitable candidates. Only

then did we reveal our intentions. We did so by ambushing the person in question to the point of paralysis – well

before the official had an opportunity to put his perforator and ruler into a drawer, organize or move piles

of paper and produce portraits of his child and dog, i began a thorough interrogation while the photogra-

pher positioned tripod and lights and produced Polaroid proofs. because of the seamless transition from

interview to photo session, the person portrayed simply never had time or the opportunity to intervene in

his work environment.

this worked everywhere except china. there virtually every visit was announced well in advance by

our chaperones from the Foreign affairs Office. Most desks looked, therefore, as if no one does any work

in chinese government offices. in several cases, incidentally, this approached reality a bit closer than does

the image authorities wish to dish up to outsiders – that of a well-oiled state apparatus, nicely in order,

populated by impeccable, committed civil servants. We did make heroic efforts to get away from all this

governmental staging.

With the fruits of the Bureaucratics project – this photo book, an exhibition and a book of stories about our

experiences with the bureaucracy in the eight countries selected, so far published only in the Netherlands – we

lift the veil of anonymity off a few hundred people, some of whom have found a spot in this book. repre-

senting an army of millions of government officials, they show how civil servants mirror the character of

their nation.

With a sense of melancholy, i say goodbye to the absurd humor we were presented with during our at

times hilarious visits to government offices. i remain, of two minds. after touring government offices for a

good four years, i couldn’t stand to see them any more, those thorough civil servants who, paid by society,

frustrate their fellow citizens through bureaucratic pestering, dotting the “i” and crossing the “t” and with

formalities that make sense to no one. but at the same time i am more aware than ever that the partial re-

striction of freedoms imposed by the officialdom – in the spirit of Max Weber – is a prerequisite for a life

lived in liberty. still, in closing i have to admit in all honesty that the trek between bureaucracies also has

made me aware of how lucky i am that i don’t have to deal on a daily basis with the Liberian, Yemenite and

chinese authorities.

Author Will Tinnemans (b. 1959) lives in The Netherlands. With photographer and friend Jan Banning he has

worked for more than 20 years on projects abroad and at home. Since 2003, Tinnemans and Banning have photo-

graphed and interviewed approximately 250 civil servants in eight countries.

b: a. i.-02 of 03 [utr., Wt (b. 1959)] b: a. i.-03 of 03 [utr., Wt (b. 1959)]

b OLi V i a

bolivia-13/2005 [bet., rVF (b. 1958)]

bolivia-24/2005 [uyu., PcV (b. 1940)]bolivia-09/2005 [bet., Mcc (b. 1951)]

bolivia-08/2005 [tin., caVc (b. 1950)]

bolivia-22/2005 [Pot., Drc (b. 1972)] bolivia-25/2005 [Mil., Mcr (b. 1942)]

Fr a Nc e

france-b04/2007 [anc., PH (b. 1952)]

france-b05/2007 [Vas., aL (b. 1974)] france-05/2006 [cle., LK (b. 1989) / MW (b. 1949)]

france-16/2006 [cle., rV (b. 1957)] france-b03/2007 [amb., LM (b. 1965)]

Y eM eN

yemen-35/2006 [alM., aaN (b. 1982)]

yemen-30/2006 [thu., aMa (b. 1974)] yemen-17/2006 [Dhi., aHM (b. 1962)]

yemen-16/2006 [Dhi., aa (b. 1955)] yemen-03/2006 [Man., NaG (b. 1969)]

yemen-28/2006 [shi., MHa (b. 1962)] yemen-14/2006 [tai., aas (b. 1964)]

russi a

russia-25/2004 [tom., LVM (b. 1959)]

russia-23/2004 [Okt., sMO (b. 1974)] russia-19/2004 [tom, MNb (b. 1962)]

russia-24/2004 [ale., NiV (b. 1954)] russia-29/2004 [she., YLb (b. 1976)]

Li ber i a

liberia-04/2006 [Mon., aD (b. 1940)]

liberia-32/2006 [Kak., sPsK (b. 1955)] liberia-35/2006 [sme., bFN (b. 1962)]

liberia-29/2006 [car., aDt (b. 1946)] liberia-19/2006 [Nye., WW (b. 1963)]

liberia-38/2006 [Mon., LNs (b. 1964)] liberia-12/2006 [Gra., acG (b. 1950)]

i N Di a

india-17/2003 [Pat., sP (b. 1962)]

india-15/2003 [Pat., sP (b. 1947)] india-23/2003 [Kis., Za (b. 1953)]

india-21/2003 [tha., MD (b. 1960)] india-22/2003 [Kis., aK (b. 1948)]

india-29/2003 [the., HDP (b. 1947)]

india-01/2003 [Man., rY (b. 1970)] india-19/2003 [tha., sKM (b. 1946)]

usa-18/2007 [Pal., rF (b. 1963)]

usa

usa-11/2007 [Ozo., sF (b. 1961)] usa-01/2007 [roc., tH (b. 1949)]

usa-04/2007 [aus., DMe (b. 1969)] usa-35/2007 [Woo., JW (b. 1952)]

usa-12/2007 [Ozo, NH (b. 1942)] usa-24/2007 [Lin., sc (b. 1971)]

china-06/2007 [Jin., QsF (b. 1964)]

c H i Na

china-10/2007 [cui, cW (b. 1943)/cG (b. 1969)] china-22/2007 [tie.,ZMG (b. 1966)]

china-19/2007 [tai., GsW (b. 1987)] china-23/2007 [tai., JJY (b. 1958)]

NOTES TO THE PLATES

Notes: Exchange rates and population figures are

from when the photo sessions and interviews were

conducted. U.S. incomes reported here are before

taxes; all others are after taxes.

Bolivia 2005: Department of Potosí

Standard workweek: 40 hours

bolivia-13/2005 [bet., reV (b. 1958)]

rodolfo Villca Flores (b. 1958) is chief super-

visor of market and sanitary services of the

municipality of betanzos, cornelio saavedra

province. Previously he worked as a brick-

layer, electrician, plumber and handyman.

Monthly salary: 1,150 bolivianos ($ 143, € 128).

bolivia-09/2005 [bet., Mcc (b. 1951)]

Mario calizaya condor (b. 1951) is deputy

mayor of betanzos, cornelia saavedra prov-

ince. He completed elementary school only

and subsequently was a farmer. Monthly sala-

ry: 1,200 bolivianos ($ 149, € 133).

bolivia-24/2005 [uyu., PcV (b. 1940)]

Palmira cádiz Velázquez (b. 1940) is a librar-

ian in the municipality of uyuni, antonio

Quijarro province. she works to supplement

her husband’s pension of 1,000 bolivianos

($ 124, € 111). Monthly salary: she doesn’t

know; she has just started her job and has not

yet received a paycheck but hopes for approx-

imately 400 bolivianos ($ 50, € 44).

bolivia-08/2005 [tin., caVc (b. 1950)]

constantino ayaviri castro (b. 1950), previ-

ously a construction worker, is a police of-

ficer third class for the municipality of

tinguipaya, tomás Frías province. the po-

lice station does not have a phone, car or

typewriter. Monthly salary: 800 bolivianos

($ 100, € 189).

bolivia-22/2005 [Pot., Drc (b. 1972)]

David ruiz Doro (b. 1972) is chief of ur-

ban and environmental projects at the

Department of Public Works’ technical

Division of the municipality Potosí, the cap-

ital of the department by the same name.

Monthly salary: 2,400 bolivianos ($ 299, € 267).

bolivia-25/2005 [Mil., Mcr (b. 1942)]

Marcíal castro revollo (b. 1942) is shopkeep-

er and – at the desk in the back – civil ser-

vant for the registry of births, Deaths and

Marriages in the municipality of betanzos,

cornelio saavedra province. also – at the

desk in the front – he is responsible for the

polling station of the corte Departemental

electoral de Potosí. Monthly salary: 500 boli-

vianos ($ 62, € 55).

France 2006/2007: Auvergne and Picardie

regions

Standard workweek: 35 hours

france-b04/2007 [anc., PH (b. 1952)]

Pascale Hoornaert (b. 1952) works eight hours

a week as town clerk in ancienville (popula-

tion 78), aisne department, Pidardie region.

she holds the same position in two other vil-

lages nearby, working a total of 31 hours per

week. Monthly salary: € 1,025 ($ 1,348).

france-b05/2007 [Vas., aL (b. 1974)]

angélique Lambert (b. 1974) works six hours

a week as town clerk in Vassogne (population

51), aisne department, Picardie region. she

holds the same position in three other vil-

lages nearby, working a total of 35 hours per

week. Monthly salary: € 1,200 ( $ 1,578).

france-05/2006 [cle., MW (b. 1949) / LK

(b. 1989)]

Maurice Winterstein (b. 1949) works in

clermont-Ferrand for the commission for

the advancement of equal Opportunity and

citizenship at the combined administrative of-

fices of the auvergne region and the Puy-de-

Dôme department. He also is in charge of the

portfolio of religious affairs, islam in particular.

Monthly salary: € 1,550 ($ 2,038). the young

lady next to him is Linda Khettabi (b. 1989),

an intern pursuing training as a secretary.

france-16/2006 [cle., rV (b.1957)]

roger Vacher (b. 1957) is a narcotics agent

with the national police force in clermont-

Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme department,

auvergne region. Monthly salary: € 2,200

($ 2,893).

france-b03/2007 [amb., LM (b. 1965)]

Laurence Maillard (b. 1965) works sev-

en hours per week as town clerk in ambrief

(population 72), aisne department, Picardie

region. she holds the same position in anoth-

er village nearby, working a total of 19 hours

per week. Monthly salary: € 500 ($ 657).

* * *

Yemen 2006: Governorates of Al-

Mahwit, Amran, Ibb and Sana’a

Standard workweek: 30 hours

yemen-35/2006 [aiM., aaN (b. 1982)]

alham abdulwaze Nuzeli (b. 1982) works at

the regional office of the Ministry of tithing

and alms in the city of al-Mahwit, al-

Mahwit governorate. Monthly salary: 12,000

rial ($ 67, € 46).

yemen-30/2006 [thu., aMa (b. 1974)]

adil Mohammed al-Ghobari (b. 1974) is

deputy manager at the regional office of

the Ministry of awqaf (endowments) and

religious Guidance in the district of thula,

amran Governorate. His income depends on

the amounts raised from awqaf, which gener-

ates for him 14,000 to 20,000 rial per month

($ 78 to $ 112, € 54 to € 77).

yemen-17/2006 [Dhi., aHM (b. 1962)]

abdullah Hussein Mohammed al-Harazi (b.

1962) is a manager at the planning and in-

frastructure department of the district of

Dhi sufal, ibb Governorate. Monthly salary:

32,000 rial ($ 179, € 123).

yemen-16/2006 [Dhi., aa (b. 1955)]

abdulwali azablani (b. 1955) is head of the

district of Dhi sufal, ibb Governorate.

Monthly salary: 35,000 rial ($ 196, € 135).

yemen-03/2006 [Man., NaG (b. 1969)]

Nadja ali Gayt (b. 1969) is an adviser at the

Ministry of agriculture’s education center

for rural women in the district of Manakhah,

sana’a Governorate. Monthly salary: 28,500

rial ($ 160, € 110).

yemen-28/2006 [shi., MHa (b. 1962)]

Mohammed Hamid azein (b. 1962) col-

lects the monthly water bills in the district of

shibam, al-Mahwit Governorate. Monthly

salary: 21,600 rial ($ 121, € 83), but he hadn’t

received a salary for five months.

yemen-14/2006 [tai., aas (b. 1964)]

ali abdulmalik shuga (b. 1964) is responsible

for the archives of the Ministry of trade and

commerce’s governorate’s office in the city of

ta’izz, ta’izz Governorate. Monthly salary:

30,500 rial ($ 171, € 117).

* * *

Russia, 2004, Tomsk province

Standard workweek: 45 hours

russia-25/2004 [tom., LVM (b. 1959)]

Lyudmila Vasilyevna Malkova (b. 1959) is a

secretary to the mayor of the city of tomsk,

tomsk province. she and her colleague take

turns, working every other day, seven days a

week, at least 12 hours a day. Monthly salary:

10,500 rubles ($ 375, € 285).

russia-23/2004 [Okt., sMO (b. 1974)]

sergej Michailovich Osipchuk (b. 1974)

is the lone police officer in the village of

Oktyabrsky, tomsk province. He does not

have a police car or one of his own – not even

a bicycle. He doesn’t want to reveal his salary,

but informed sources put the monthly sala-

ry of an officer of his rank and age at approxi-

mately 4,000 rubles ($ 143, € 108).

russia-19/2004 [tom., MNb (b. 1962)]

Marina Nikolayevna berezina (b. 1962), a for-

mer singer and choir director, is now the sec-

retary to the head of the financial department

of tomsk province’s Facility services. she

doesn’t want to reveal her monthly salary.

russia-24/2004 [ale., NiV (b. 1954)]

Nikolajevich ilyich Volkov (b. 1954) is admin-

istrator of the village of alexandrovskoye,

tomsk province. Monthly salary: 9,000 ru-

bles ($ 321, € 243).

russia-29/2004 [she., YLb (b. 1976)]

Yevgeny Leonidovich bill (b. 1976) is the

lone police officer in the shegarsky territo-

ry, tomsk province. He is still studying at the

police academy in Novosibirsk. bill has no

phone, and travels on foot in a ten-werst radi-

us around his station (one werst is 0.66 mile).

Monthly salary: 6000 rubles ($ 214, € 162).

* * *

Liberia 2006: Margibi, Montserrado,

Grand Gedeh and River Gee counties

Standard workweek: 37 hours

liberia-04/2006 [Mon., aD (b. 1940)]

Major adolph Dalaney (b. 1940) works in the

reconstruction room of the traffic Police at

the Liberia National Police Headquarters in

the capital Monrovia. Monthly salary: barely

1,000 Liberian dollars ($ 18, € 17). traffic acci-

dent victims at times are willing to pay a little

extra if Dalaney’s department quickly draws

up a favorable report to present to a judge.

liberia-32/2006 [Kak., sPsK (b. 1955)]

Lieutenant samuel P.s. Kollie (b. 1955) is

chief of the traffic station of the Liberia

National Police in Kakata, Margibi county.

He has no police car and no means of com-

munication. When an accident is reported,

Kollie at times takes a cab at the expense of

the person reporting the accident. Monthly

salary: 900 Liberian dollars ($ 16, € 15).

liberia-35/2006 [sme., bFN (b. 1962)]

brama F. Nyé (b. 1962) is head of the revenue

Office in smell-no-taste, Margibi county.

Once a month, he drives in a rented or bor-

rowed car to Monrovia to deliver hundreds of

thousands of Liberian and american dollars

to the central bank of Liberia. Monthly sala-

ry: 1,080 Liberian dollars ($ 19, € 18).

liberia-29/2006 [car., aDt (b. 1946)]

alfred D. tartea (b. 1946) is administrative

assistant and acting superintendent (high-

est civil servant) of careysburg district,

Montserrado county. Monthly salary: 750

Liberian dollars ($ 13, € 12.50).

liberia-19/2006 [Nye., WW (b.1963)]

Warford Weadatu sr. (b. 1963), a former

farmer and mail carrier, now is county com-

missioner (administrator) for Nyenawliken

district, river Gee county. He has no bud-

get and isn’t expecting any money soon from

the poverty-stricken authorities in Monrovia.

Monthly salary: 1,110 Liberian dollars ($ 20,

€ 19), but he hadn’t received any salary for

the previous year.

liberia-38/2006 [Mon., LNs (b. 1964)]

Louise N. smith (b. 1964) keeps files at the

Department of statistics of the bureau for

immigration and Naturalization (biN) in

Monrovia. Monthly salary: 1,000 Liberian

dollars ($ 18, € 17), almost all of which is

spent on transportation to and from work.

sometimes she receives nothing for three

months, except for support from family in the

united states.

liberia-12/2006 [Gra., acG (b. 1950)]

alfred c. Garley (b. 1950), stationed in

Zwedru, is deputy revenue agent for Grand

Gedeh county. During the Liberian civil

war, the tax office was robbed and destroyed.

Monthly salary: approximately 1,000 Liberian

dollars ($ 18, € 17).

* * *

India 2003: State of Bihar

Standard workweek: 35 hours

india-17/2003 [Pat., sP (b. 1962)]

sushma Prasad (b. 1962) is an assistant

clerk at the cabinet secretary of the state

of bihar (population 83 million) in the Old

secretariat in the state capital, Patna. she was

hired “on compassionate grounds” because

of the death of her husband, who until 1997

worked in the same department. Monthly sal-

ary: 5,000 rupees ($ 110, € 100).

india-15/2003 (Pat., sP (b. 1947)]

suresh Prasad (b. 1947) is assistant clerk of

the “bihar House” department in the Old

secretariat, Patna, state of bihar. Monthly

salary: 9,000 rupees ($ 197, € 179).

india-23/2003 [Kis., Za (b. 1953)]

Zahir anwar (b. 1953) is dealing assistant

(in charge of day-to-day operations) at the

Drivers’ Licenses office in Kishanganj dis-

trict, state of bihar, a third-grade employ-

ee of the state government. Monthly salary:

9,000 rupees ($ 197, € 179).

india-21/2003 [tha., MD (b. 1960)]

Dr. Munni Das (b. 1960) is block

Development Officer in thakurganj block, an

administrative entity within Kishanganj dis-

trict, state of bihar. Monthly salary: about

10,000 rupees ($ 220, € 200).

india-22/2003 [Kis., aK (b. 1948)]

arbind Kumar (b. 1948) is head assistant

at the supply section of Food supplies in

Kishanganj district, state of bihar. Monthly

salary: 7,000 rupees ($ 153, € 139).

india-29/2003 [the., HDP (b. 1947)]

Harsh Deo Prasad (b. 1947) is panchayat

chief (village head) in the village of tehta,

Makhdumpur block, Jahanabad district, state

of bihar. He informs local farmers about the

use of fertilizers, irrigation and other ways

to achieve efficiency in agriculture. Monthly

salary: 9,100 rupees ($ 199, € 181).

india-01/2003 [Man., rY (b. 1970)]

ram Prabodh Yadav (b. 1970) is sub-inspec-

tor (deputy inspector) of police in Maner

block, Patna district, state of bihar. Monthly

salary: 10,000 rupees ($ 220, € 200).

india-19/2003 [tha, sKM (b. 1946)]

surinder Kumar Mandal (b. 1946) is circle

inspector of taxes in thakurganj block, col-

lecting taxes in a specific part of Kishanganj

district, state of bihar. Monthly salary: 9,500

rupees ($ 208, € 189).

* * *

USA 2007: State of Texas

Standard workweek: 40 hours

usa-18/2007 [Pal., rF (b. 1963)]

rudy Flores (b. 1963) is one of the 118 texas

rangers state law enforcement officers, who

cover 254 counties between them. He is based

in Palestine, anderson county, texas. He is

responsible for three counties. Monthly sala-

ry: $ 5,000 (€ 3,720).

usa-11/2007 [Ozo., sF (b. 1961)]

shane Fenton (b. 1961) is sheriff of crockett

county, texas, and based in Ozona, the

county seat. Monthly salary: $ 3,166 (€ 2,356).

usa-01/2007 [roc., tH (b. 1949)]

thomas Harris (b. 1949) is chief of police of

the city of rockdale, Milam county, texas.

Monthly salary: $ 4,250 (€ 3,162).

usa-04/2007 [aus., DMe (b. 1969)]

Dede Mceachern (b. 1969) is director of li-

censing, texas Department of Licensing

and regulations, in the state capital, austin.

Monthly salary: $ 5,833 (€ 4,240).

usa-35/2007 (Woo., JW (b. 1952)]

Jessie Wolf (b. 1952), a former profession-

al football player for the Miami Dolphins, is

now sheriff of tyler county, texas, based in

Woodville, the county seat. Monthly salary:

$ 3,417 (€ 2,542).

usa-12/2007 [Ozo., NH (b. 1942)]

Nancy Hale (b. 1942) is deputy treasurer of

crockett county, texas, and based in Ozona,

the county seat. Monthly salary: $ 2,417

(€ 1,798).

usa-24/2007 [Lin., sc (b. 1971)]

shannon crenshaw (b. 1971) is deputy clerk

at the county clerk’s office in Linden, cass

county, texas. Monthly salary: $ 1,750

(€ 1,302).

China 2007: Shandong Provice

Standard workweek: 40 hours

china-06/2007 [Jin., QsF (b. 1964)]

Qu shao Feng (b. 1964) is chief general of

Jining Public security bureau’s Division of

aliens and exit-entry administration in

Jining city, shandong province. Monthly sal-

ary: 3,100 renminbi ($ 384, € 286).

china-10/2007 [cui, cW (b. 1943) / cG (b.

1969)]

cui Weihang (left, b. 1943) is village chief of

cui, and cui Gongli (b. 1969) is party sec-

retary of the chinese communist Party in

cui (population 2,300), which is in tuanli

town, Jiaxiang county, a part of Jining city,

shandong province. Monthly salary for the

village chief: no payment. Monthly salary for

the party secretary: 280 renminbi ($ 35, € 26)

china-22/2007 [tie.,ZMG (b. 1966)]

Zhang Mao Guo (b. 1966), employed by

the Office of Justice, is an official teach-

er of Justice and Values to villagers in

tianping town, Daiyue District, tai’an city,

shandong province. Monthly salary: 1,500

renminbi ($ 186, € 138)

china-19/2007 [tai., GsW (b. 1987)]

Guo shao Wei (b. 1987) is doorman at the

tai’an Hi-tech Zone and economic Zone

building, tai’an city, shandong province.

Monthly salary: 1,100 renminbi ($ 136, € 101)

china-23/2007 [tai., JJY (b. 1958)]

Jiang Ji Yuan (b. 1958) is chairman of the art

and Literature association of tai’an, tai’an

city in the shandong province. Monthly sal-

ary: 4,000 renminbi ($ 496, € 368).

b: a.-01 of 01 [utr., Jb (b. 1954) / Wt (b. 1959)]

Acknowledgments

a book such as Bureaucratics exists only at the mercy of the voluntary cooperation of many others. there

was the hospitality of thousands of civil servants in eight countries who from 2003 through 2007 allowed us

a peek into their work environment. We are especially grateful, however, to the approximately 250 officials

selected for this book, who made themselves available for at least 45 minutes, often even an hour and a half

and sometimes much longer to answer the writer’s questions and pose patiently for the photographer. With-

out them, this book simply would not exist.

Nor would we ever have succeeded without translators, fixers, diplomats or simply nice people who as-

sisted us during at times exhausting travels or who used their gift of gab to provide us with access to key

figures in the bureaucracies. these people include:

India: Dr. shaibal Gupta, anil ramdas, alok Deo singh;

Russia: Dinah Djidjoeva, Lubov Lavrova Nikolajevvna, Margreet ter Woerds, the press office of tomsk prov-

ince;

Bolivia: Jaime acuña Martínez, Gonneke de ridder;

Liberia: bram Posthumus, J. Grody Dorbor:

France: Michèle Desage, Danielle chapuis, emmanuel Duqueroix;

Yemen: Marc Mazairac, thom sprenger, Michiel van campen, Noman, Nizar salim Moh’d al-Mihdar;

United States of America: erin trieb, Nadja Masri, Wim roefs and eileen Waddell;

China: Yu Yongli, Zhang Yuan, Jing Lin, Li sha, Li Yanwen.

these people opened numerous doors that would have remained shut without them. the translators/fixers,

moreover, were pleasant company during the trip and excellent guides.

Dozens of people in the Netherlands and well beyond advised and assisted us from 2003 through 2008.

to mention them all here would create too long a list, but we wouldn’t want to leave unmentioned Hans

van blommestein, Jan Donkers, Leo erken, Harry van Gelder, tim Kos, Martin Parr, Laura starink and

Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger. Furthermore we owe enormous gratitude to the Dutch organizations that had

sufficient trust in us to cover part of our expenses: stichting Democratie en Media in amsterdam (Democ-

racy and Media Foundation), stichting Fonds anna cornelis Weesp (anna cornelis Foundation), ncdo

amsterdam (National committee for international cooperation and sustainable Development) and sbku

utrecht (committee for the Promotion of Visual arts).

Jan Banning / Will Tinnemans

this first edition of Bureaucratics is limited to 1,500 casebound copies.

Photographs copyright © 2008 by Jan banning.

For inquiries about Jan banning’s exhibition Bureaucratics,

please consult his website: www.janbanning.nl

Foreword copyright © 2008 by Martin Parr.

introduction and Notes to the Plates copyright © 2008 by Will tinnemans.

translations by Wim roefs. color management by slice of image, Marjan van Nus.

copyright © by Nazraeli Press LLc. www.nazraeli.com

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