Student Guide: Health, Safety and Financial Issues Abroad

Adapted from "The StudyAbroad.com Handbook" by William Hoffa

While you are visiting another country you are subject to the laws of that country. Legal protection taken for granted in the United States is left behind when you leave the U.S. American Embassies and Consulates are very limited in the assistance they can provide: the names of competent attorneys and doctors, but not any financial assistance in paying for legal or medical services. Nor can they intervene on your behalf in the administration of justice as seen from the point of view of the host country.

Bail provisions as we know them in the United States are rare in many other countries and pretrial detention without bail is not uncommon. Prison conditions in developing or fundamentalist countries may often be deplorable, in comparison to conditions in the United States. The principle of "innocent until proven guilty" is not necessarily a tenet of legal systems abroad. The best advice is of course to know the laws and obey them scrupulously. If you get in trouble, seek local legal assistance as quickly as possible.

DRUGS: Avoid any possible involvement with drugs. Drug laws of course vary from country to country, but in many cases they are extremely severe, regardless of whether the drug in your possession is for personal use or for sale to others. Bail is not granted for drug-trafficking cases in most countries. Pre-trial detention, often in solitary confinement, can last for months. Many countries do not provide a jury trial, and in many cases you need not even be present at your trial.

Most prison and law enforcement officials abroad will probably not speak English, the significance of which you may not fully appreciate until you are confined and feeling helpless, in very hard conditions. The average jail sentence in drug cases worldwide is about seven years. In at least four countries (Iran, Algeria, Malaysia, and Turkey) the death penalty can be imposed for conviction on some drug charges. Do not wrongly assume that buying or carrying small amounts of drugs cannot result in their arrest. In reality, Americans have been jailed abroad for possessing as little as three grams (about one-tenth of an ounce) of marijuana.

Packing: Don't carry everything in one place! Never pack essential documents, medicine--anything you could not do without--in your checked luggage. Put them in your carry-on bag.

Cash: Never carry large amounts of cash. American Express traveler's checks are a good idea. Have three lists of checks. Leave one at home. Carry one list with your checks and carry one list separately from your checks. Keep two lists up-to-date as you cash checks. Keep the receipts for your checks separate from your traveler's checks. For the small amount of cash you need, try using a necklace pouch or a money belt.

Credit Cards: Take only the cards you will use on the trip. Keep separate a list of, cards, numbers, and emergency replacement procedures.

Insurance: Since it may be necessary to contact your insurance agent(s) while abroad, keep all names and phone numbers, as well as your policy number(s), with you, in a safe place.

Luggage: Mark all luggage, inside, and out, with your name and address. If you have an itinerary, put a copy inside each bag. Keep a list of what is in each bag and carry the list with your other documents. Mark your bags in some distinctive way, so they are easily found. COUNT YOUR PIECES OF LUGGAGE EACH TIME YOU MOVE! Try to travel light, it's safer and less cumbersome!

Medicines: Take all you need for the trip. Take copy of your prescription(s), with the generic name of the drug(s). Keep medicines in original drugstore containers. Take extra glasses and your lenses prescription with you.

Passport: Carry with you--separate from your passport--two extra passport pictures, passport number, date and place issued, and a certified-not photocopied-copy (not the original) of your birth certificate or an expired passport. If your passport is lost, report to local police; get written confirmation of the police report and, take the above documents to the nearest United States Consulate and apply for a new passport.

Ticket: Make a copy of your ticket or, list your ticket number, all flights included, and name and address of issuing agency, and keep this list separate from your ticket.

CRIME, VIOLENCE, AND TERRORISM: Most countries in the world have less street crime and personal violence than is potentially present in urban and suburban American. Indeed, in

many countries U.S. students report when they return that they had never felt safer in their lives.

this does not mean that there is no crime and that your safety is assured--because of, or in spite

of, the fact that you carry a U.S. passport in a perhaps statistically more peaceful local

environment.

The simple fact of being a foreigner and not knowing quite what is and isn't safe behavior increases the possibility that you can be victimized by petty crime, such as fraud, robbery, theft, or even physical attack. Further, in certain places and at certain times, it is very possible to get caught in the midst of forms of political strife which may not be directed at you personally or even at you as an American, but nevertheless can be very dangerous.

With regard to the threat of terrorism, in those few sites where even remote danger might occasionally exist, program directors work with local police and U.S. consular personnel and local university officials in setting up whatever practical security measures are deemed prudent. In such places, you will be briefed during orientation programs and reminded at any times of heightened political tension about being security conscious in your daily activities. Terrorism is a twentieth- century reality and is not likely to diminish significantly. To succumb to the threat by reacting in fear may well be the objective that terrorists seek to achieve. Nevertheless, there are certain rather obvious precautions that American students abroad can take.

· Know local laws: laws and systems of justice are not universal. Do not assume that just
because it is legal in the United States, that it is legal abroad.

· list of local attorneys and physicians;

· contact next of kin in the event of emergency or serious illness;

· contact friends or relatives on your behalf to request funds or guidance; · provide assistance during civil unrest or natural disaster;

· replace a lost or stolen passport.

They cannot, however, provide the services of a travel agency, give or lend money, cash personal checks, arrange free medical service or legal advice, provide bail or get you out of jail, act as couriers or interpreters, search for missing luggage, or settle disputes with local authorities. Remember that their primary occupation abroad is to help fulfill the diplomatic mission of the United States government; they are not there to play nursemaid to American travelers.

There are several useful pamphlets about travel and residence abroad, prepared by the Bureau of Consular Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Two are of particular interest: "A Safe Trip Abroad" and "Your Trip Abroad." You can usually pick them up free in any U.S. Passport Office. Otherwise, you can order them for $1 each from:

The Superintendent of Documents

U.S. Government Printing Office

Washington DC 20402.

It is recommended that U.S. citizens residing abroad for any extended period of time register with the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate. If you are on a study abroad program, this will usually be done on your behalf by program staff, but this is not always true. Check to be sure.

Should your family need to contact you while you are traveling (e.g. after the program is over), emergency assistance is available through the Citizens' Emergency Center of the Office of Overseas Citizens Services (OCS), operated by the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. The office is open from 8:15 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and can be reached at (202) 647-5225.

For emergency communication between 10:00 p.m. and 8:15 a.m. or over weekends, contact can be made through the Overseas Citizens' Services duty officer at (202) 634-3600 (or at (202) 647-5225 on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).

This office can transmit emergency messages from your family, provide protection in the event of arrest or detention while abroad, transmit emergency funds to destitute nationals when commercial banking facilities are not available, etc. It would be wise for you to provide your family with at least a tentative itinerary so that in an emergency, they can give the State Department some idea where to begin looking for you.

If you wish to add a work experience to your time away, this must be done either before your program begins or after it ends, and can only be done legally if you have a Work Permit. Work Permits are simply not available for work in certain countries, and are very difficult to obtain in most others, since employers are usually forced to demonstrate that a potential employee from another country has skills and experience which are not possessed by the citizens of that country. This is usually a very hard case to make.

Adapted from "The StudyAbraod.com Handbook" by William Hoffa