Best Posts in Thread: U.S official refuses to help u.s citizen

I've had two grandparents suffer from Alzheimer's/dementia, one passed away, one currently in the late stages of the disease. It's a very nasty disease (not just on the person who has it but their family as well) on it's own, living on the street alone in a 3rd world country....wouldn't wish that on anyone. Not exactly sure what would happen to this man if he made it back to the US and had no one there to get him at the airport. If there is no family I don't think any outcome is going to be a very pleasant one.....but if I had to choose where I was going to slowly lose my mind, the Philippines would certainly not be my first choice. At least in the US there is a chance he could be put somewhere that could provide him the basics.

Edit: My point was, if there is something that can help him get back to the US it should be done.

 

I figured this would be the response from the Embassy. They aren't going to share any information about this gentleman without his consent (nor should they) and they aren't going to take action to assist someone when all the information is coming from a third person. This is why I directed my questions towards the man who wrote the article (and seems to be in direct contact with the American that is in need and taking the lead on the man's situation). If the man is mentally ill/unstable and is unwilling to cooperate with getting back to the US and his family is not assisting in any way there is going to be very little the Consulate can/will do. This will be something that the Philippine Immigration will need to take the lead on, or at the very least offer a lot of assistance on IMO. Being mentally ill and a burden to society is grounds for deportation here if I remember correctly.

Note: I'm not trying to say this man is a "burden to society". He needs help, but the best way for him to get that help might be for the BoI to forcibly remove him from this country (where he will never be able to get the help/assistance he needs). It is a shame that he does not have any family that has been contacted yet (we can't be sure of that though); I have only read about a possible brother (who is 81 years old, may not even be alive and I haven't found any contact information for him) and a cousin in the US. I do have a contact number for the cousin. I will not call that number until I have spoken to the author of the article or the BoI (they might have already tried to contact family or have a different/better US contact for him).

 

Why is it the US taxpayer's problem that this guy didn't come prepared or have backup plans? It's called the US State Department, not the US Babysitting Department. I'm not saying the Embassy shouldn't have done something for the guy but the part where he says "yet, here comes their own citizen, poor and sickly, and they wouldn't extend him any help"......that freakin' rich! Please do tell, what is it the Philippines does for their "poor and sickly"? Pot, meet kettle.

Really now? That's the only problem going on here? So they went through all this trouble (and expense) to take the guy all over Dumaguete to different government offices and appointments at hospitals and then drove him to Cebu when all he needed was to call his bank? I call BS! The entire story is not being told here. I'm sure the US Consulate saw through that story as well. If the guy is not going to be honest about his situation then he does not deserve any help.

Who would have thunk it, someone wants to get paid. What happened to all that "The bible says: Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. (1 John 3:18)" you were talking about in the very first sentence of the article go? Guess there isn't all that much love for this "poor and sickly" expat when there is no money involved.

So, what exactly was it they were "denied"? And why would their pay be determined by any actions of the US Consulate did or did not take for this expat? I call BS again.

I'm curious if this "brainstorming" session included any Google searches or thoughts about reaching out to an expat group/website (like this one). I suspect the results would have been much different if either of those things had been done.

Emergency Financial Assistance for U.S. Citizens Abroad
"Destitute U.S. citizens in need of help overseas should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate or the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at (888) 407-4747 (or from overseas +1 202-501-4444), for information about other assistance options and eligibility requirements."

I'm curious if anyone called this number before running this guy all the way to Cebu? There is absolutely no mention of this in the article.

How about contacting the US Embassy Warden in Dumaguete? Didn't see his name mentioned once in the article either.


If all the guy really needs to do is call his bank to get a new card send me a PM and I'll meet the guy in Dumaguete and let him use my phone to call his bank. Problem solved.

 

It's certainly a pretty poor situation for this poor guy. Even the Brit embassy are more helpful than this. If this guy has family at home why couldn't they contact them or atleast help sort out his banking problem and get him straight.