# US Embassy refuse help to persona non grata activists in Cairo **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 6, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005 "2014-03-06T11:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marmite\_Lover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Marmite\_Lover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marmite_Lover)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/1 "2014-03-06T11:38:30Z")
> [@](#): > > The activists arrived Wednesday night from Paris and started a sit-in at the airport in an attempt to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah Crossing from Egypt… > A security official stated that the activists couldn’t pass through Egypt, as the Rafah Crossing is currently closed. He added that they would have to go through Israel instead. The activists are from various nationalities and are also on the unwanted list and prohibited from entering the country, the official added. > > The group allegedly refused to show their passports at passport control and upon arrival started chanting and holding the Palestinian flag, while others slept on the floor in protest, the newspaper added. They also refused to move to the waiting area or to a nearby airport hotel. > > Meanwhile, the French Consul to Egypt expressed his apologies for the lack of cooperation from the activists and thanked Egyptian authorities for delivering their luggage to them. [http://madamasr.com/content/activists-seeking-enter-gaza-face-deportation-cairo-airport](http://madamasr.com/content/activists-seeking-enter-gaza-face-deportation-cairo-airport) Medea Benjamin the leader of the group has condemned the US Embassy for not helping after she spent 17 hours on Twitter etc asking for their help. She is now back in DC after being deported via Turkey. She reported that she was put in a filthy prison and fed dirty bread and dirty water and police broke her arm and amazingly an Egyptian doctor on a flight to Turkey reset her broken arm :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/2 "2014-03-06T11:49:15Z")
OK, so the embassy is - out of the blue - supposed to help someone because they asked via Twitter? Someone who refused to display a passport at immigration control? These are people begging to be arrested. The US has little to do with it and the embassy is doing the right thing by ignoring it. As for the filthy prison stuff? Protip: don’t get arrested if you don’t want to see a jail. Especially in the developing world. Though she’d likely be equally horrified at conditions in most county jails in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/3 "2014-03-06T12:07:31Z")
I think \*\*Marmite Lover \*\*is coming out in \*favor \*of the US Embassy’s actions. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/4 "2014-03-06T13:01:57Z")
Reported - there’s a link here but no debate. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/5 "2014-03-06T13:09:20Z")
You just noticed? He’s been doing this for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/6 "2014-03-06T13:19:33Z")
Yeah. He makes my ass tired and it just reached critical mass. I’m hoping if we start reporting the threads en masse we can spread the pain around and maybe inspire someone to take official action. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/7 "2014-03-06T13:24:46Z")
Marmite Lover, while I support your desire to discuss and debate issues throughout the middle east, I have to question your behavior. Just this morning you’ve posted three issues without much in the way of backing material nor real debate. Such accomplishes nothing and doesn’t contribute to the mission of Great Debates. In future threads, please maintain proper form and have a topic you wish to debate. I’m going to cross-post this to the threads you started this morning and encourage you to do better in the future. More threads like this - vague statements to others writing without an attempt at debate - will be closed or moved at moderator discretion. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/8 "2014-03-06T14:57:21Z")
> [@Marmite\_Lover](#): > > Medea Benjamin the leader of the group has condemned the US Embassy for not helping after she spent 17 hours on Twitter etc asking for their help. > > She is now back in DC after being deported via Turkey. > > She reported that she was put in a filthy prison and fed dirty bread and dirty water and police broke her arm and amazingly an Egyptian doctor on a flight to Turkey reset her broken arm :dubious: I have to say, Tyler Perry goes to amazing lengths to get into character. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/9 "2014-03-06T15:07:33Z")
Perhaps Medea Benjamin has had some sense smacked into her. As for the embassy, their job is to represent the citizen of the nation in another nation, no matter how obnoxious those citizens might be. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/10 "2014-03-06T15:09:08Z")
I don’t think it’s their job to take her word for it when she says she’s a citizen but refused to produce her passport. ---
**Author:** ![Marmite\_Lover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Marmite\_Lover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marmite_Lover)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/11 "2014-03-06T16:01:44Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Perhaps Medea Benjamin has had some sense smacked into her. **As for the embassy, their job is to represent the citizen of the nation in another nation** , no matter how obnoxious those citizens might be. yes you would think that wouldn’t you ---
**Author:** ![Marmite\_Lover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Marmite\_Lover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marmite_Lover)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/12 "2014-03-06T16:03:27Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t think it’s their job to take her word for it when she says she’s a citizen but refused to produce her passport. she’s well known and the American Embassy in Cairo would have her on a list of persona non grata anyway but the embassy refused to attend her when she said they broke her arm so what is this? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/13 "2014-03-06T16:41:29Z")
So…the Egyptians have declared her persona non grata, and deported her? And the US embassy was supposed to…do what? Investigate whether Egyptian security forces broke her arm? If the US embassy is supposed to help her, the best way they can help her is to get her out of the country. Which she is. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/14 "2014-03-06T17:31:34Z")
> [@Marmite\_Lover](#): > > she’s well known and the American Embassy in Cairo would have her on a list of persona non grata anyway but the embassy refused to attend her when she said they broke her arm so what is this? So what if she’s well known? Do you think every consular official knows who she is? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/15 "2014-03-06T17:40:55Z")
Plus, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Twitter a terrible way to try to get in touch with one specific entity? If the embassy wasn’t following her, would they have even known that she was asking for help at all? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/16 "2014-03-06T17:41:57Z")
Maybe she thought they would send her a coupon, like when you complain to a business about its customer service via Twitter. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/17 "2014-03-06T17:59:17Z")
> [@Marmite\_Lover](#): > > she’s well known and the American Embassy in Cairo would have her on a list of persona non grata anyway but the embassy refused to attend her when she said they broke her arm so what is this? What is this? It’s what happens to you when you refuse to show your passport. Lesson to be learned: if you want help, show your passport. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/18 "2014-03-06T19:02:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Plus, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Twitter a terrible way to try to get in touch with one specific entity? If the embassy wasn’t following her, would they have even known that she was asking for help at all? You can send Direct Messages to people who don’t follow you now, unless they’ve blocked you. But honestly, I can’t imagine the person in charge of [the US Embassy in Cairo’s Twitter feed](https://twitter.com/USEmbassyCairo) is all that responsive, or was even aware of the situation. Maybe instead of spending those 17 hours you just suck it up and show a passport? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/19 "2014-03-06T19:13:02Z")
> [@](#): > > … others slept on the floor in protest Meanwhile, others went to McDonalds in protest, others visited the restroom in protest, and others got a drink of water in protest. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005/20 "2014-03-06T22:08:47Z")
I can’t figure it out - who did the protesters think was going to be outraged by this? Regards, Shodan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-embassy-refuse-help-to-persona-non-grata-activists-in-cairo/683005.md?page=2)