I have watched a lot of movies where Americans visit in a foreign country, run into serious trouble, and inevitably go to the American Embassy for help. Usually these are in war or action movies where people fear for their lives, but even so, such movies have I think, instilled in my imagination an unrealistic picture of what an embassy, and particularly the American Embassy can and can’t do. A recent (actually on going) experience in a foreign country, lets call it Bangladesh Pleasantville, made me realize how truly naive I am about how helpful the embassy would or could be for its citizens (well in my case I am a permanent resident with an American family).
As many of you who read this website know, I have come into some trouble in Pleasantville. Some faction of the government (its cultural and archive division) broke up my library project which had set out to create an inventory and partially digitize (that means take individual pictures of individual pages of individual manuscripts over a long period of time with a DSL camera and portable lights, not instantly capture 100,000’s of images with my magical lazer-scan ray gun, crazy Pleasantville government honchos!) a private manuscript library. The goons from the government pushed around some of my workers and told us to leave lest they have us arrested. So we left. Some crazy article comes out the next day on the sixth page of a national newspaper claiming that we were suspected of smuggling and doing damage to their precious artifacts. None of it is true. Indeed, the collection had been left to rot and was getting eaten by rats until I gave it my attention and won a grant for its protection. Oh then it became important!
The local organization I am sponsored by (a private trust) is going to court to protest all of this claiming it is an illegal seizure of private property. There are issues of what constitutes national vs private cultural property along with a host of other issues such as copyright.
In any case, all this happens and then my project partner tells me that we are being monitored by the government, that there are some “very dangerous” people that are set against us, and that I should go to the US Embassy for help. Being naive and imagining that I am in some kind of movie, considered this option and decided I should call them just to see what they say. I am being unjustly accused of something I didn’t do, after all, so why wouldn’t they help me? Maybe they can help me to get out of the country before the Pleasantville government archive goons lock me away in a small humidity controlled vault in some obscure sector of the capital.
Ok, so perhaps my imagination is running a bit wild, I am still here and not 100% sure I will be allowed to leave (even my lawyer tonight said “God forbid they don’t let you leave. . . . .”). But, as I have learned, none of this is serious enough to allow you to get much help from the American consulate. I phoned and explained my situation as best I could and they said “what are you asking?” I said, well I am not sure, I was told to call you so that is what I am doing. She responds with a dry chuckle and tells me she will give me a list of lawyers if I want, but nothing else. I already had one, so declined the offer. So if you get into trouble in a foreign country there is very little that the American government will do for you. I am not complaining about this, but I was surprised out of my naiveté.
Here is what they state on their website about what they won’t do for you:
- The U.S. government cannot provide security or protection for private U.S. citizens abroad. If a dispute arises, we encourage the parties involved to report the matter to the local police.
- The U.S. government cannot get U.S. citizens released from foreign jails. We can, however, visit an arrested U.S. citizen to ensure that there is not maltreatment.
- A consular officer cannot serve as an attorney or give legal advice. We can provide you with a list of attorneys in Pleasantville.
- The U.S. government cannot pay your legal fees or other related expenses. We can assist you in contacting your family or friends who could offer such help.
- A consular officer cannot investigate a crime.
- A consular officer cannot serve as official interpreter or translator.
Running to your Embassy when you are in a foreign country, or at least in Pleasantville, isn’t really an option unless perhaps your life is at immediate risk, although not necessarily. But for random legal troubles, no matter how unjust or trumped up, no. Perhaps this seems self evident, but when you are being unjustly accused of something in the newspapers that are using government spokespeople as their sources, you really start thinking more dramatically than legally (or at least I am) and become more than a little paranoid.
I will report back in a few days if and when I make it back to the warm embrace of home.
