petitefrancaise

Well I guess, you've got what you wanted.

moneypenny20

If we were affected by a disaster here in Aus the last people I'd expect help/support from would be the British consulate. It's a bizarre idea imo.

petitefrancaise

does it occur to you that your opinion might be regarded as bizarre by other nations? Why wouldn't a consulate help it's citizens?

I knew the consulate and his assistant in Bordeaux. He was mostly interested in trade stuff. She on the other hand, made sure that any Brit who needed help got it. I can only imagine that Caroline would have been right in there at the evacuation centres in Houston.

BritInParis

Sorry to break it to you but you haven't been able to register with the FCO for years.

petitefrancaise

what does this have to do with anything?

I didn't realise anyone had to register with their consulate to get consular assistance?

I repeat, why wouldn't a British person living in Houston get assistance from their consulate just as other nations are getting assistance from their consulates? Why does a Brit get a phone number to call (probably answered in India and a premium rate line) when a French/Dutch/German national gets a friendly face from the consulate?

petitefrancaise

5 minutes ago on FB from the french consulate...
"Attention / Evacuations
Le maire de Houston a ordonné aujourd’hui une évacuation obligatoire des maisons inondées dans la zone ouest de Houston.
La zone d’évacuation se situe entre le sud de l’I10, le nord de Briarforest, l’est des réservoirs et l’ouest de Gessner (voir carte ci-dessous).
Le Consulat général de France � Houston suit attentivement la situation.
Il vous rappelle qu’en cas de difficulté vous pouvez contacter votre chef d’îlot (liste disponible sur le site internet du Consulat) ou le téléphone de permanence du Consulat au 713-542-2928.
Vous pouvez aussi signaler toute situation non urgente par email � : [email protected]"

"The french consulate is following the situation carefully, he reminds you that if you are having any difficulties you can contact the person in charge of your particular area in Houston."

so what is this? It's information and reassurance. It's reminding you that they have set up local french people as contacts specifically for your area of Houston ( and already given you their personal cell phone numbers) that you can call.

what is so hard about doing this?

BritInParis

I've yet to find out what all these wonderful things the other consulates are doing which the Brits aren't. So far it just seems like it's tea and sympathy.

old.sparkles

Nothing hard about doing it, but not sure why the consulate would need to. Brits will understand the info given by the Texan authorities without a need for translation. Tourists or business visitors would know they can contact the consulate if needed. Brits who are citizens of the US wouldn't be able to get assistance other than that the US is offering all it's citizens.

I would guess that had the flooding occurred in another country, where announcements were not in English, they may provide a translation possibly - but in this day and age there is an app for that, or you can plug it in google.

Pulaski

Exactly!

I have nothing to add.

moneypenny20

Obviously other people have different opinions, weird comment. If I were in a country where English wasn't used and I didn't know my way around finding the right people to help and I needed consular assistance I'd be in contact with the British Consulate. If I were living in Texas and my house had been lost through floods, I wouldn't contact the British Consulate even to be offered tea and crumpets regardless of whether the French Consulate were offering coffee and croissants. It makes no sense to me. It seems to make sense to you so that's good. Don't expect others to understand it.

Jerseygirl

As I understand it if you have dual UK/US citizenship living in the US you would not be entitled to BC assistance.

jeepster

The British Consulate support is in the comments of this thread.

mrken30

Both the British High Commision and the US Embassy in Mumbai are not offering advice to their citizens. I believe the floods are much worse there and English is not the national language as far as I know.

Never rely on your Government to help you out. They are only there to collect taxes.

moneypenny20

It's the same here. I think PF was talking about people who didn't have dual citizenship. It would appear that some French people would only be happy being offered a bed from another French person but maybe I got that wrong.

mrken30

Maybe the French are just more caring. I mean they greet with hugs and kisses, the English just shake hands, if you're lucky.