Long-time homeless American deported

[Bonobojt]

He was deported. You can find Steven's book "paradise gone wrong" on amazon. Charming guy. 

Oh wow, hope he's doing ok in cold Manchester then and not living on the streets still, yes I might buy his book.

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[jimmyaaa]

On 11/28/2017 at 10:22 PM, Bonobojt said:

Oh wow, hope he's doing ok in cold Manchester then and not living on the streets still, yes I might buy his book.

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I read this book after seeing it mentioned here ( 8 bucks on kindle ) ...the author made some bad decisions early on in thailand ( hookers , booze , business ) . One long party . When he ran out of money , alcoholism  (at the highest level ) led him to stay in thailand . He had offers for paid airfare home (eventually ) but kept the 'party' going . ...Sounds like the op guy here being deported had a one time productive existence in thailand , family , teacher , ect , but hit a rough patch as of late.....pretty different scenarios early on but same outcome i guess

[Bonobojt]

I read this book after seeing it mentioned here ( 8 bucks on kindle ) ...the author made some bad decisions early on in thailand ( hookers , booze , business ) . One long party . When he ran out of money , alcoholism  (at the highest level ) led him to stay in thailand . He had offers for paid airfare home (eventually ) but kept the 'party' going . ...Sounds like the op guy here being deported had a one time productive existence in thailand , family , teacher , ect , but hit a rough patch as of late.....pretty different scenarios early on but same outcome i guess

I just brought the book on kindle today, very interesting story, wish I knew more about Steve's deportation, surprised it didn't get media attention

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[Wilson Smith]

18 hours ago, jimmyaaa said:

I read this book after seeing it mentioned here ( 8 bucks on kindle ) ...the author made some bad decisions early on in thailand ( hookers , booze , business ) . One long party . When he ran out of money , alcoholism  (at the highest level ) led him to stay in thailand . He had offers for paid airfare home (eventually ) but kept the 'party' going . ...Sounds like the op guy here being deported had a one time productive existence in thailand , family , teacher , ect , but hit a rough patch as of late.....pretty different scenarios early on but same outcome i guess

Yes Steve and Scott had very different stories. I met Scott through Steve a few years back and yes they were drinking friends. Steve was homeless in Jomtien for many years and after his book was published had an apartment that was taken care of but due to some immigration scares he left Jomtien and went to Pattaya where he become homeless again. Scott was not homeless (he may have been in the last month or so) he had a room although it was not ideal. Steve was in bad shape before the police took him to the station which was basically right across the street from where he lived. Steve survived the deportation and I hope Scott can as well.

[Jin Nan]

Same guy who had the spot outside 7.11 soi diamond/ 2nd Rd, about 10 years ago? Could have easily been picked up then.

[Jack100]

For a homeless down and out , seems he's got quite a following ...11 pages wow ........

[Creweser]

Scott hasn't been deported yet but is still being held in prison in Bangkok - I'm aware that at least one friend of his has been contacted by the US Embassy who appear to be searching for somebody to pay his airfare (without asking directly !).  

[Wilson Smith]

13 hours ago, Creweser said:

Scott hasn't been deported yet but is still being held in prison in Bangkok - I'm aware that at least one friend of his has been contacted by the US Embassy who appear to be searching for somebody to pay his airfare (without asking directly !).  

Thank you for the update.

[Bonobojt]

On 01/12/2017 at 2:55 AM, Wilson Smith said:

Yes Steve and Scott had very different stories. I met Scott through Steve a few years back and yes they were drinking friends. Steve was homeless in Jomtien for many years and after his book was published had an apartment that was taken care of but due to some immigration scares he left Jomtien and went to Pattaya where he become homeless again. Scott was not homeless (he may have been in the last month or so) he had a room although it was not ideal. Steve was in bad shape before the police took him to the station which was basically right across the street from where he lived. Steve survived the deportation and I hope Scott can as well.

May I ask how you know Steve got deported and survived the deportation? Do you know what his situation is now in England? Is he in the hospital or staying with family? He seemed to not really want to go back to England as he said no for help from family to bring him back home before 

[Wilson Smith]

11 hours ago, Bonobojt said:

May I ask how you know Steve got deported and survived the deportation? Do you know what his situation is now in England? Is he in the hospital or staying with family? He seemed to not really want to go back to England as he said no for help from family to bring him back home before 

I had someone check with the deportation center. He did not want to go back and I have not heard anything recently about how he is going. Not sure if he reached out to his family or not. I think someone other then his family helped with his ticket to get back. I did hear he was trying to get back to Thailand despite his living situation. He had big hopes that his book would be made into a movie.  

[Jools]

On 11/24/2017 at 1:43 PM, Dogmatix said:

According its enlightened policy of never doing anything to assist British citizens under any circumstances, the British Embassy would have let him serve his 100 days in Phatum Thani jail in lieu of paying the overstay fine followed by transfer to Immigration's medieval standing room only jail in Soi Suan Plu, until he could raise the fare home, i.e. until he died which would probably not be long in there.   Sounds like Uncle Sam might stump up for his fine and repatriation.  Lucky for him he's a yank.

Actually, America hasn't been much more liberal in this respect. It must have been an exceptional set of circumstances to get the Embassy to send him home. Embassies of all nations are not known for compassion. They are an elite corps of highly paid bureaucrats who perform almost no work and cut "sweetheart deals" with immigration, (notary letters for income and freedom to marry being an example). Embassy personnel generally resent having to actually HELP OUT their citizens.

[dddave]

On 12/13/2017 at 10:18 AM, Wilson Smith said:

I had someone check with the deportation center. He did not want to go back and I have not heard anything recently about how he is going. Not sure if he reached out to his family or not. I think someone other then his family helped with his ticket to get back. I did hear he was trying to get back to Thailand despite his living situation. He had big hopes that his book would be made into a movie.  

A few days ago, I purchased Steve's book, "Paradise Gone Wrong", online, prompted by this thread.  I have to say that it was not an enjoyable or particularly illuminating read and my impression of the author is that of a manipulative,  self-serving alcoholic with few qualms about who he uses and little inclination to do whatever it would take to turn whatever life he has remaining around.  

Yes, not a chapter goes buy wherein he doesn't tell us what a useless lout he is and how remorseful he is for the family he abandoned and the brother who he ripped-off.  One quickly gets the feeling these confessionals are usually quite productive on the beach, prompting sympathetic listeners to hand over a red and sometimes a purple note or two, which invariably leads to a quick trip to the always close-by 7-11 for a new supply of hooch.

Kind people occasionally take him in, some expending a lot of time and trouble to get him into some form of rehabilitation but he inevitably sabotages  whatever efforts come forth.  It's hard to imagine him ever having the internal fortitude to do what it will take to get clean and support himself. 

Whether he remains in the UK or somehow finds his way back to Thailand, he will probably always rely on the generosity or naivety of others  and aimlessly stumble on to whatever end he meets.

[dddave]

1 hour ago, Jools said:

Actually, America hasn't been much more liberal in this respect. It must have been an exceptional set of circumstances to get the Embassy to send him home. Embassies of all nations are not known for compassion. They are an elite corps of highly paid bureaucrats who perform almost no work and cut "sweetheart deals" with immigration, (notary letters for income and freedom to marry being an example). Embassy personnel generally resent having to actually HELP OUT their citizens.

I understand what you say is probably mostly true but I think we need to step back and recognize that embassy's and consulates are government diplomatic agencies and not social welfare organizations. 

If embassy's routinely provided financial assistance to destitute tourists and down and out ex-pats, the line would be out to the street daily, filled with stories of woe and victimization and lost wallets.  We all know there is a sizable segment of our national populations who feel entitled to whatever free support they can wheedle out of government. "How I got my embassy to pay for my 3 month holiday" would become a new blogging industry.

 

In reality, the best way to solve issues of repatriations would be to require nationals exiting their home countries to have some sort of a non-cancelable   return ticket bond that would guarantee they would never be without the means to return.   

Edited December 14, 2017 by dddave