"British" man fallen on hard times in Bangkok set to be repatriated

[scorecard]

Just now, faraday said:

What happens if someone like him, has no surviving relatives, or friends or any money to get back to their home?

Surely they can't stay in the IDC 'til they die?

Point taken and it brings a question:

 

• - Is the person the responsibility of Thailand?
• - Is the person the responsibility of his birth country?

 

I can't see that he/she is the responsibility of Thailand, I very much doubt that any country would accept such a responsibility in terms of foreigners, so that leaves 'the responsibility of his birth country?'

 

That also brings lots of questions re 'why should the taxpayers of his birth country pay to repatriate folks who have allowed themselves to get into such a mess?' Further, if they did pay the airfares for such folks, then where does it end, how long is the list?

 

And then how many folks would immediately take an attitude of 'don't worry, just go to the embassy they will give you a ticket home free'.

 

A complex question, yes there needs to be some room for compassion but...

[Vacuum]

2 minutes ago, Henrik Andersen said:

What ever happened you are responsible for your self and always have a plan b.  

He could just go embassy and contact family 

Why end up as a street bum??? 

Perhaps he doesn't have a family, Embassy I think you can forget, and I'm sure he doesn't have "a plan B". And last, I don't think he planned to end up as a street bum.

[owl sees all]

It can happen so easily.

 

A few years back. I had fell on hard times but had a decent pitch near Leyton Station (London, England, near Leyton Orient Fc). A well dressed guy came up, and reached into his pocket for a bit of change to give to me. He dropped a few pennies into my hat. As he walked away i saw that he had dropped his wallet. I limped after him but could not find the guy.
 
Opening the wallet I found 500 pounds. There was also some little business cards. It turned out that he was a solicitor. I couldn't afford a phone during those times, so i walked to Tottenham Hale (the address on the card). I'd been injured when I'd been set upon by some youths earlier in the week, and my leg was hurting, but I carried on, and hours later I got to his office. It was closed.
 
Sat by the doorway all night. It turned out not to be a good pitch and my hat got filled with nothing. The next morning a lady came to open the office. I told her that I'd been active in the Army, and had seen better days. I explained what had happened with the solicitor guy and apologized for having to open the wallet, which still had all the dosh in it. She said not to worry, everything would be OK, and took the wallet from me. The solicitor would be pleased with your honesty; she said.
 
I went back to my Leyton spot and just carried on. The following day the solicitor came to me. "Thank you for returning the wallet" he handed me a carrier bag and walked away. I looked inside and there was a sign and an envelope. The sign said 'War veteran - please help' I opened the envelope and inside was a little note. "Make good use of the 500 quid you thieving <deleted>
 
But, the sign worked well and I never looked back. And here I am in Thailand.

 

He probably believed her. Like many of us do.

Edited June 25, 2019 by owl sees all

[Andrew65]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

No, I was talking about this guy in particular, in Thailand .

And I did also say "usually"  and usually guys in Thailand who fall into that state , it does indeed involve drink and girls 

I'd say you're right there (generally).

 

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by Andrew65

[cheapcanuck]

Wouldn't immigration just deport him if he overstayed? Free ticket home if that is the case.

[richard_smith237]

Just now, cheapcanuck said:

Wouldn't immigration just deport him if he overstayed? Free ticket home if that is the case.

 

No, they'd detain him in IDC until he could afford his own ticket home.

[poohy]

Things can and do go wrong ..to anyone, keep that in mind.

[scorecard]

17 minutes ago, cheapcanuck said:

Wouldn't immigration just deport him if he overstayed? Free ticket home if that is the case.

But that starts a line of folks who let themselves become destitute because 'never mind; the Thai Immigration dept., will give you a ticket home (deportation).

 

Then it just snowballs...

 

 

[pmh2009]

It is situations like this that we have all the restrictions for retirement visas... and it will be tighter and stricter in the future... due to incidents like these... always the farangs!!!

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, tracker1 said:

Could be a few more the way the Baht is going !

Homelessness is more a mental health problem than a lack of money problem.

If you relocate them, they just drift into the same life in another part of the world.

[mooping20Baht]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Not sure if I would prefer being homeless in the US, or here. Both are horrendous thoughts. The homeless population in America is exploding, as the middle class continues to get decimated by fiscal policy, the lack of benefits from corporations, stagnant wages, dramatically rising prices, especially for housing, and policies that favor the wealthy.

 

In the US, many people are one paycheck away from being homeless. 63% of the population has three months wages, or less, for savings. We like to think ourselves immune from such a tragic state of affairs, but a series of calamities can put people on the street, without warning. Many homeless were hard working souls, who were living in a home they rented for years, at $1,200 a month, barely getting by. The home gets bought by a new owner, the rent gets increased to $3,500, and they have no hope of paying that. They start looking around, and see that there is nothing affordable. Had they planned for it, they would be able to survive. Some do not plan. If it were me, I would stiff the landlord for three months rent, save my earnings, sell everything I own, and move to a small town in Idaho, rent a house for $500 a month, and start all over again. But, some do not think rationally, when faced with an emergency situation. 

 

Here it helps, that the standard of living is alot more reasonable. It is alot easier to afford a 6,000 baht a month room, or a 10,000 baht a month home in a small town, than it is to pay $3,500 a month for a 2 bedroom house or apartment in Los Angeles. But still, running out of money like this guy is tragic. 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2016/01/06/63-of-americans-dont-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-500-emergency/#150845464e0d

Apparently,  LA  has $60k + unhoused   imagine that ........

 

Rome is seriously burning

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, colinneil said:

Hope nobody is hoping for help from the British embassy, as it wont happen.

"Hope nobody is hoping for help from the British embassy, as it wont happen".

You really need to stop saying this as, in general, it is not true, it's getting very tedious.

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, giddyup said:

It appears he may have some mental problems. Why on earth would anyone be sleeping under the sink?

It doesn't "appear" that way at all, destitution does.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Perhaps he doesn't have a family, Embassy I think you can forget, and I'm sure he doesn't have "a plan B". And last, I don't think he planned to end up as a street bum.

"Embassy I think you can forget..."

Untrue.

[Just Weird]

37 minutes ago, cheapcanuck said:

Wouldn't immigration just deport him if he overstayed? Free ticket home if that is the case.

Doesn't happen like that.

[Vacuum]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Here it helps, that the standard of living is alot more reasonable. It is alot easier to afford a 6,000 baht a month room

I'd say that the norm is more close to around 2000 baht + water & electric.

[colinneil]

9 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"Hope nobody is hoping for help from the British embassy, as it wont happen".

You really need to stop saying this as, in general, it is not true, it's getting very tedious.

Stop with your nonsense, i am speaking from personal experience.

Yes your hatred for anything i post is tedious.

[crazykopite]

Having lived and worked in many parts of the world sadly this has become the norm in today’s modern society rather than sleeping rough on the street he should of gone to the local temple where he might of got some help . Just because he will be being repatriated back to the U.K. doesn’t mean he will get any help and like many others he may fall yet another victim of sleeping rough and begging for food I hope that this is not the case and that he has someone who will take care of him and try to get him back on his feet .

[faraday]

9 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

"Embassy I think you can forget..."

Untrue.

True, they won't help financially.

[faraday]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Homelessness is more a mental health problem than a lack of money problem.

If you relocate them, they just drift into the same life in another part of the world.

Not at all.

If someone does fall on hard times, & becomes homeless it is very difficult to get accommodation.

[losername]

4 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

I suspect that's the headline will be hearing a lot soon and looks like a similar scene from any UK town and city good luck to him ????

In the interests of accuracy I can say that this is not true.  Not "a similar scene from any UK town and city".  Not where I lived, worked or visited when I lived there, so not "any".  These days it is hard to be loyal to the UK but, at least, express views with a degree of balance and fairness. 

[GreenerGrass]

This type of behaviour is normally due to long term untreated mental illness of some sort, likely brought on by long term drug or alcohol abuse? Women play a part in men falling apart but normally there are other skeletons in the closet to get to this state. He is 1 of hundreds of millions of unfortunate souls on the planet!

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

 

 
I went back to my Leyton spot and just carried on. The following day the solicitor came to me. "Thank you for returning the wallet" he handed me a carrier bag and walked away. I looked inside and there was a sign and an envelope. The sign said 'War veteran - please help' I opened the envelope and inside was a little note. "Make good use of the 500 quid you thieving <deleted>
 
But, the sign worked well and I never looked back. And here I am in Thailand.

 

He probably believed her. Like many of us do.

You've made that 500 quid go a long way.

[Lucius verus]

2 hours ago, faraday said:

What happens if someone like him, has no surviving relatives, or friends or any money to get back to their home?

Surely they can't stay in the IDC 'til they die?

Good question. I've heard stories of Pakistanis and Africans who simply rot in IDC until the UN or someone else pays for their ticket home.Thais refuse to pay for these people.

If a farang is destitute with no family support I assume the embassy will reluctantly pay his fare home after several months of detention.

Better that than the TV media getting hold of the story through social networking. Not good PR.

British embassy had a reputation for ignoring its citizens. Might have changed in recent years. Ask the Poms.

[RJRS1301]

3 hours ago, giddyup said:

You mean there's no roof where he's living, and if it rains at least his head is dry?

He was living on the streets, destitute.

Not poor, destitute.

Probably malnourished as well

[giddyup]

Just now, RJRS1301 said:

He was living on the streets, destitute.

Not poor, destitute.

Probably malnourished as well

OK, still doesn't answer my question as to why he's got his head under the sink.

[transam]

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

OK, still doesn't answer my question as to why he's got his head under the sink.

Perhaps a retired plumber...

[RJRS1301]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

Point taken and it brings a question:

 

• - Is the person the responsibility of Thailand?
• - Is the person the responsibility of his birth country?

 

I can't see that he/she is the responsibility of Thailand, I very much doubt that any country would accept such a responsibility in terms of foreigners, so that leaves 'the responsibility of his birth country?'

 

That also brings lots of questions re 'why should the taxpayers of his birth country pay to repatriate folks who have allowed themselves to get into such a mess?' Further, if they did pay the airfares for such folks, then where does it end, how long is the list?

 

And then how many folks would immediately take an attitude of 'don't worry, just go to the embassy they will give you a ticket home free'.

 

A complex question, yes there needs to be some room for compassion but...

I am not aware of any embassy supplying tickets home

Sometimes Dept Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) will arrange a loan, which of course must be repaid from any commonwealth benefits or other income the person receives, but this is rare.

 

[RJRS1301]

5 minutes ago, giddyup said:

OK, still doesn't answer my question as to why he's got his head under the sink.

perhaps it was the sink of a road side stall holder in the area

 

[Assurancetourix]

37 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Stop with your nonsense, i am speaking from personal experience.

Yes your hatred for anything i post is tedious.

You are right Colin,

 

It is the same thing with the Embassy of France;
it will never help financially a Frenchman in difficulty;
exceptionally , she will lend a little money with the guarantees that it will be refunded.