Helms 1 Alyssa Jane Helms Instructor Reyes English 102-14 19 June 2012 International Mail Questions With the

advent of text messages, social network sites, and video conferencing, it is possible to quickly and easily communicate with people almost anywhere in the world. And its not that expensive. With these advancements in technology it is hard to imagine who, besides businesses and bill collectors, would still be using the postal system. However, there are people out there. One such person is Elder Josh Bodily, a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), currently serving two years in Brazil. According to Elder Bodily, as a condition of his mission, he is only allowed email correspondence with his parents. All other communications must come from letters or packages sent through the postal service. This isnt a unique situation. There are missionaries for the LDS church serving in areas all over the world (some in their country or origin, but many not), and most of these men and women must also adhere to this condition. This means that even in this day and age, sending and receiving international mail is a reality for at least some people. Additionally, it means that security in delivery is an important concern, because it is the only communication that they can have with the other individual. There is no other way of checking with them to make sure that their mail was delivered. So what happens once mail parcels, particularly first class envelopes, leave the country, and what policies are in place that help guarantee the delivery of said mail to the recipient? Can the international mail system be trusted?

Helms 2 The first item to consider when exploring the safety and security of international mail is what governs international mail policy. Are these policies established individually between countries or is there one standard that every country follows? According to the US Department of State, there is an international authority on the postal system. It is called the Universal Postal Union (UPU), and it coordinates international postal policies and procedures for every nation included in its membership (International Postal Policy par. 8). The United States is a member of the UPU and therefore it follows these policies that ensure there is fair compensation for services when mail passes between countries, and that allow for a sense of security in dealing with an unknown or an unfamiliar country. If there wasnt a sense of uniformity between so many different countries, it would be more difficult for consumers to entrust their mail to a foreign government. There is corruption in the world, and government agencies are only as honest and trustworthy as the government that regulates it and the persons involved in its operations. However, in this case, there is the added oversight of the UPU, which heightens the sense of security. In the words of the State Department, this international policy means that countries [can] be guaranteed mail service to and from nearly every other nation around the globe (International Postal Policy par. 9). The word guaranteed carries with it a strong connotation of security. It is possible that the writer of these words was only stressing that without this policy the US government would not have international mail relations with the same number of countries, and thus it would not be possible to send mail everywhere in the world. However, it is also possible that this guarantee refers to the safety and security found in a regulated, uniform system. The next item to consider is what consumer practices are recommended so that a piece of mail can reach its end location. Its not enough that there is a system in place; consumers must be

Helms 3 knowledgeable of the system so that they can work within it to achieve the desired results. The US Postal Service publishes manuals on both domestic and international mail policies. In these manuals there is a disclaimer that says the burden rests with mailer to ensure compliance with domestic, international, and individual country rules and regulations for mailability (International Mail Manual sec. 131.4). This disclaimer basically says that consumers need to know the policies in place, and that they cant rely entirely on the Post Office to know for them. How many consumers actually research mail policies though? Children are taught from a young age that the mailing address goes in the center the envelope, the return address goes in the top left corner, and the postage goes in the top right corner. The process seems so simple that it is easy for persons to think themselves masters of the craft when they really dont know that much. Knowing these three things will perhaps ensure that all domestic mail reaches the intended recipient, but is it enough for international mail? Is ignorance threatening the system? Looking at the International Mail Manual (IMM) published by the US Postal Service, the answer is maybe. There are actually quite a few guidelines that most likely would not be considered common knowledge, but are quite important in the letter sending process. Some examples under the addressing section of the document are that: Addresses in Russian, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Japanese, or Chinese characters must bear an interline translation in English of the names of the post office and the country of destination, and All lines of the delivery address should appear in all capital letters. The city destination must appear in capital letters (secs. 122.1.b and 122.1.k). These policies make sense because they help ensure that the USPS will be able to direct the mail to the correct locations, however, they might not occur to consumers as they address letters. Often people unconsciously assume that just because they can read their handwriting, everyone will know what it says. Sadly this is not always the case, and it

Helms 4 can actually prove to be quite difficult to decipher some handwriting. This is not the only area of letter sending, where people can be ignorant. According to the IMM, documents contained in first-class mail (regular letters) can be sent freely through the mail without filling out any customs forms (sec. 123.61). This begs the question what is classified as a document and what is not? The IMM says that Personal correspondence among other items is considered a document, however, the items that are not considered documents, but rather merchandise, include artwork, printed music, and photographs and must be accompanied by a customs declaration form and [the declaration of] a value (sec. 123.63). This is understandable when the items are being sold, but are people who are sending photographs to friends and family going to make that connection if they arent knowledgeable of the policies? As ridiculous as it seems, it is probably important that persons concerned with the safe delivery of their mail read this entire handbook and familiarize themselves with the rules set in place by the postal service. The last item to consider is what really happens to the mail once it taken by the post office. Royal Mail, the official postal service for the United Kingdom, outlines this process the best. The post office takes the mail, sorts it, and sends it to a worldwide distribution center, where it is sorted once again. At this point it is taken to the relevant overseas office of exchange. It then travels to the destination country and the domestic postal authority takes responsibility for the distribution of the mail (Delivery Process par. 1). However, the process is a little bit more complicated than that. What about customs? What happens during this time? Is every letter inspected or just some of them. Royal Mail claims that all mail that enter the United Kingdom may be examined by customs, but normally letters, postcards and packets containing only documents or similar forms of correspondence are excluded (Customs Information par.

Helms 5 25). The USPS says that mail believed to contain articles liable to customs duty or prohibited articles is submitted immediately to a customs location (International Mail Manual 711.211). This means that any piece of mail can be inspected by customs to ensure that no prohibited items enter the country. However, not much is known beyond that. Especially in countries like Brazil, where there is a language barrier on any information that they could possibly be supplying. With this unknown area of the delivery process, can customers still have confidence in the international mail system? It seems possible as long as consumers are aware of the policies that are in place. There is a lot that consumers can do to make sure that their mail makes it through the system. First, be knowledgeable of the addressing standards and ensure that each piece of mail has all of the necessary elements to direct it to the recipient. Next, read up the items that are prohibited in the country the mail is going to. These are published in the IMM and some of them are not common sense items. For instance, it is prohibited to send primary educational books not written in Portuguese to Brazil (International Mail Manual sec. Brazil). Also make sure that all necessary customs forms are filled out. If questions arise, the post office can be consulted, but ultimately consumers are responsible for knowing these things. If they do know these things and they follow them then their mail shouldnt have any trouble getting through customs. That being said, there is always going to be a little bit of uncertainty with international mail. Its scary to entrust anyone with something important, and every person and organization makes mistakes sometimes. The doubt and uncertainty increases when, like the LDS missionaries, consumers cant verify the delivery of their mail. However, what is the alternative? No mail for two years? The very thought seems ridiculous, and certainly the risk of non-delivery is low enough that it should be risked, but with every known precaution in place.

Helms 6 Works Cited Bodily, Josh. Personal interview. 20 Aug. 2010. Customs Information. Royal Mail. Royal Mail Group Ltd, 2012. Web. 12 Jun. 2012. Delivery Process. Royal Mail. Royal Mail Group Ltd, 2012. Web. 12 Jun. 2012. International Mail Manual. USPS. United States Postal Service, 7 May 2012. Web. 9 Jun. 2012. International Postal Policy. US Department of State: Diplomacy in Action. US State Department. Web. 9 Jun. 2012.