I've taught overseas and one of my co-workers even had a run in with useless Canadian embassy officials but this sort of stuns me in the face of one of the worst disasters in history:
A Toronto man living in Japan says the federal government is “providing no help” to Canadians wanting to know if they should leave the earthquake and tsunami-ravaged country, especially given the nuclear threat. Phillip Ilijevski teaches English in Takasaki, about 100 kilometres north of Tokyo. He called Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to find out if it’s safe to stay in Japan, but says the only advice they gave him was to watch the news.
Warnings of repeat tsunami performances, nuclear plants teetering on the edge of meltdown, civil services collapsed and hundreds of thousands potentially dead - and you ask an embassy official if it's safe? So, if they said "yes" and a nuclear plant goes all "end times" would you call them back and complain? If they said "no" would you pack your bags and leave without any other consideration? Watch the news? Good advice. Because it's hours into a crisis of unknown proportions and no one has a handle on it. Good advice.
Comments
Ben (The Tiger) - March 14, 2011 10:24 AM
From my dealings with the embassy in Washington, Foreign Affairs is useless. (That was on their primary responsibility -- passport replacement.)
Mind you, their advice this time is probably about right... If I were an embassy official, I'd add this: "No evacuation of Canadian nationals is currently contemplated."
Pok - March 16, 2011 12:18 PM
I am stunned that anyone would expect Foreign Affairs to have an official answer the question. Common sense is a better guide in such matters.
Pok - March 17, 2011 10:01 AM
And based on today's developments, common sense appears to mean listening to the advice of what the US department of foreign affairs is telling their citizens abroad to do.
Ben (The Tiger) - March 17, 2011 12:14 PM
The Americans are sending planes to pick up their nationals.
Well, generally the Anglosphere sticks together. Bet we could spring for a few seats on those flights -- maintaining the usual (and proper!!) rule that one has to reimburse the government for one's evacuation.
Alan - March 17, 2011 2:58 PM
Our relatives have shifted to the country's SW.
Ben, are we sending a bill to the Canadian oil workers airlifted out of Libya? Let me know when Mr. Harper gets around to requiring that.