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By Byron Bales and Diane Kellner
When it comes to reports of American citizens who have died abroad, the answer to the above question could well be, “Maybe not! ”To understand the significance of such a report, officially termed A Report of the Death of An American Citizen Abroad, one needs to understand how these forms are created.
As always, US Consulates continue to rely upon a dead American’s employer, family, traveling companions or whoever is in a position to give some firsthand information surrounding the circumstances of the death of the American. However, there was a time when far fewer Americans traveled abroad and a time when US Consulates were better staffed.
In the past, it was rare, especially in cases of violent death, that a consular officer wasn’t notified immediately by the local police when an American died. An American representative was always requested to visit the scene, regardless of whether family members, business associates or friends were on hand.
During those “field trips” of the good old days, a positive identification was made whenever circumstances allowed, using the American’s passport or any other official government records available. Once a positive identification was made, the consular officer concentrated on determining the cause of death. Often, a trusted local doctor would accompany the consular officer and render his own opinion. If there was any question as to the probable cause of death, the embassy’s doctor had the body removed for examination and even autopsy. If no foul play by any of the relatives or business associates was suspected, the consular office would then assist in repatriating or disposing of the American’s remains, according to the family’s wishes.
Less frequently, family members could reach the scene of their loved one’s death and, just as infrequently, they could even arrive in time to make the necessary arrangements.
That’s how it used to be and, in theory, still is. Sort of. Well, not really. American Citizens Services sections within the American consulates no longer provide the assistance they once did. The reason for this decline in service is simple: budget constraints. Shrinking consular services have been noticeable for the past few years, but since the budget fight in Washington last year, cutbacks in American embassies and especially in American consulates have been drastic.
Many American consulates have closed and more are closing each month as overseas State Department staffing is reduced. Years ago, even developing countries maintained consulates in major cities as well as a consulate attached to the American embassy in the country’s capital. But those consulates in major cities outside the capitals are fast disappearing.
Within the embassies and consulates themselves, American staffers have been thinned out, and their numbers are growing thinner still. It began with the practice of greatly reducing the United States Marine security detachments, who for nearly two hundred years represented the total security force for an American embassy. Today, a small contingent of fewer than a dozen US Marines is still responsible for perimeter security, but internal security is now largely delegated to local, outside private security firms. Electronic security in the form of alarms, barriers, metal detectors and monitors greatly assist the standard physical guard, and providing that embassy officials don’t merely surrender an embassy as they did in Tehran in 1979,the present day physical security measures seem sufficient.
But all this doesn’t concern the American insurance industry or its investigators. What concerns us is that the Report of the Death of an American Citizen Abroad seems to be taken as unimpeachable gospel.
Let’s take a look at how these ROTDOAACAs are completed and how the information is arrived at. Today, it is usually the family, not the local police, who notify the consulate of a death. This can vary greatly from country to country, depending upon the professionalism of the local police and their working relationship with the American Embassy.
In China, for example, the People’s Government is frequently miffed with Americans who they feel intrude into China’s business with this “human rights nonsense. “ Two years ago, the People’s Safety Department, as the local police are known, banned the American Embassy in Quangzhou from celebrating Independence Day at a local hotel after thousands of Americans, their families, friends and Chinese business associates had been invited. The Chinese government cited security precautions, saying they could not be held responsible for acts of violence against Americans if they pursued their national celebration. It was a ruse, however; the only people mad at the Americans were Chinese officials who got word from Beijing to put the kibosh on the celebration with this harassment.
For three full months, the Chinese gave the embassy in Beijing and consulates across the country a very cold shoulder. President Clinton could have dropped dead in the streets and the police wouldn’t have notified the Americans.
So, lack of cooperation is one consideration. Another is a poorly trained police force in remote places that reports such deaths infrequently with little concern for the deceased’s nationality. As far as the local police are concerned, it’s just another gringo, gwailo (foreign white devil), farang (Southeast Asian term for Westerner) or Cano (as Filipinos refer to Americans and Europeans). Therefore, it’s little wonder, that the American’s family will somehow hear of the death before our consulate does.
In the past, Americans always used to contact the American consulate when they rushed into a country after hearing that a loved one died. This is less common today. Americans, especially first and second generation naturalized Americans, tend to handle matters themselves. In hundreds of cases around the world, families have raced to the other side of the globe to tend to a dead relative without ever bothering to contact the American Consulate even to have the deceased’s passport canceled. Many don’t realize that they should contact the consulate; others just don’t want to bother.
Such negligence shouldn’t be construed as suspicious. Many naturalized Americans simply don’t bother turning to the US Government abroad. However, when an insurance claim for a foreign death is made, most insurers request a copy of the ROTDOAACA. Those families who never bothered to get the form are put to the task of getting one, while on the other hand, those claims that do include a Report of the Death of an American Citizen Abroad are usually not scrutinized.
If a consular officer doesn’t actually identify a body, there’s no guarantee that the dead person is, in fact, the insured. Today, most Americans who die overseas have not been identified by a consular officer.
Here’s the routine these days: an American dies, attended or not, and the police are contacted. The contact is either made by family or friends or by a doctor or hospital. The police may or may not contact the embassy. If family is not on hand, a consular officer may visit a morgue or may have a local staffer handle that unpleasant task. The staffer may only be asked to determine whether there’s any question as to identity and the staffer in turn may simply question the police over the telephone. The consulate will try to reach someone who will take care of the matter. Family isn’t necessary; a friend or associate, American or not, will suffice.
If a consular officer is experienced, he will have his staffer communicate to the police that he wants the body to remain refrigerated until such time as the consul releases the body. The embassy has this right. Keep in mind, however, that if refrigeration is not available, especially in tropical countries, everyone very naturally becomes quite anxious to dispose of the remains as quickly as possible.
Enter the wife, weeping and in great need of assistance. She has the insured’s passport, a death certificate signed by a doctor, sometimes a police report, a cremation/burial permit, and on rare occasions, a contract with a freight forwarding agent for shipping the body back to the States. If the consular officer thinks to do it, he may have his local staffer visit the mortuary and identify the body; but he usually doesn’t. After all, the widow is weeping and the documents all seem to be in order.
Voila! A Report of the Death of an American Citizen Abroad is completed once all the certified translations are in hand. (A certified translation, after all, is a document completed hopefully by a competent linguist who merely places his stamp on the translation. A translator is never required to authenticate what he translates.)
The remains are released to the widow, the canceled passport(perforated with the word “canceled”) and copies of the ROTDOAACA are given to the widow and that’s that.
But what’s so valuable about that ROTDOAACA? Just that it’s one more document provided to the insurance company whose substance and integrity can’t be guaranteed.
What happens next? Before the staffing and budget problems, consuls were far more helpful in assisting insurers examining death claims. Some still are, and sadly, it depends upon how busy a consul might be at the time. Consulates now are only expected to provide the Washington, DC, address where an original, certified copy of the ROTDOAACA can be obtained for a fee. Consuls are no longer expected to even verbally acknowledge that the signature appearing on the bottom on the Report is theirs, let alone open a file where information may pertain to items such as who initially notified the consulate of the death, when and how, how the death occurred, and the names and addresses of witnesses, doctors, family, friends, associates, etc. They are not even obliged to provide copies of newspaper articles.
The questions behind the value of these Reports are many. Simply put, however, the consulates are understaffed and overworked, and understandably, consuls become irritated when asked the very direct but simple question, “Did anyone from the consulate actually see the body?”
Note how, on a typical ROTDOAACA, under “Cause of Death,” the words, “according to…” or “as indicated by…” are used. When consuls are questioned regarding this source, they invariably admit that they have no direct knowledge of this source or person.
For instance, the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines, will not accept a birth record from a Local Civil Registrar for the purposes of issuing a visa. They shouldn’t; Filipino Civil Registrars are among the most notorious bribe seeking artists in the country. Rather, the consulate insists upon a certified record from the National Statistics Office, the national census bureau for the entire country. (These records also are not absolutely guaranteed to be correct, but this document is a further guarantee of authentication and generally far more reliable than local civil registrars.)
Yet, for a ROTDOAACA, the consulate often refers to a death certificate issued through these very same civil registrars. By including such words as “according to… “ or “as indicated in the Death Certificate issued by…,” they are clearly giving credence to a claim based upon very questionable documentation.
So why does the consulate recognize death certificates from the local civil registrars but not birth certificates? The answer, obviously, is that the consulate is more interested in its immigration problems than in its Citizens Services. And just as importantly, the United States Government does not have to pay fraudulent insurance claims presented to the private sector.
To make matters worse, too often local nationals are being employed by the consulates to handle inquiries made by Americans. The training is poor and their manners and attitude leave something to be desired. In particular, they seem to resent having to answer questions from Americans in our own consulates and if they’ve learned anything, it’s to quote the Privacy Act in answer to all questions put to them about the death of an American in their country. They seem never to understand just what the Privacy Act entails, but it appears to be something they’ve learned to parrot when they don’t know what else to do.
Another frightening trend noted over this past year is the greatly reduced services to American citizens in the American Citizens Services sections. In fact, the signs for ACS and the exclusive line for Americans who require assistance have disappeared. Instead, this activity now seems relegated to the consulate’s visa section; Americans in need of assistance are now forced to wait in endless lines, where throngs of nationals are queued up to apply for US visas.
These trends are world wide an indication that State Department operating guidelines are to blame. Yet consuls are reluctant to discuss scaled back operations or budget cuts.
Most State Department employees overseas are hardworking and try to be helpful. It’s especially beneficial to cultivate ongoing relationships with consuls who have been stationed in the same country for years. When dealing with American embassies and consulates, it’s advisable to present oneself with a letter of introduction. (Who would have thought that it would ever come to this for an American visiting an American Consulate?) The letter should outline what assistance is being sought and a Freedom of Information reminder might also be a good idea. As well, many embassies and consulates now have email capability. We’ve found it a good idea to also introduce ourselves this way prior to visiting a consulate as letters of introduction are frequently mislaid, forgotten or even discarded by the consul’s staff. (Many consulates fail to save letters of inquiry and open files when appropriate. However, email is always saved and can be easily accessed.)
More and more death claims which have included these ROTDOAACAs have proven to be fraudulent. This trend reflects the lessening involvement on the part of consuls and the increasing influence of beneficiaries and other actors.
We believe that this pattern of faltering assistance within our consulates will worsen over time. America is the only country that continues the practice of providing embassy reports on the death of their citizens. The British, French and Germans ceased doing so many years ago, and most other countries never bothered to. Such a service may be comforting to some American families, but the consulates should make it very clear that, in most instances, they have not certified the information contained therein, and that the ROTDOAACA may not be worth the paper it’s written on.
Byron Bales is the founder of FIRST SERVICES, an investigative company specializing in insurance investigations around the world. He is also President of First/Asia, its wholly owned Bangkok subsidiary. With well over thirty years experience in investigations, Mr. Bales has worked insurance related matters in over 130 countries on six continents.
Diane Kellner has been an investigator with FIRST SERVICES for the past 11 years, having worked claim matters in some 30 countries around the world. She is also the lead writer and editor of FIRST SERVICES’ monthly publication, the International Assignment Advice Newsletter.
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