January 28, 2013 The Honorable Mr. Dwight Porter Ambassador of the United States of America The Embassy of the United States of America 100 Mira Vista Magdalena del Mar Lima 17 Re: Lack of Availability by the Embassy Dear Honorable Ambassador, I am writing concerning my recent visit to Lima, Peru, in which I met with some rather unfortunate circumstances. Unbeknownst to me, my visit to Peru coincided with the country’s general election, which occurred on the day before I was scheduled to return home to the United States. I awoke on the day of my departure to find that the entire country was on strike. Protests were going on in the streets. Many businesses were closed. I could not find a bus or taxi to take me to the airport. And, more importantly, I was generally frightened to be in public, as I was not familiar with what was going on. What was most upsetting, however, was the lack of assistance I received from the U.S. Embassy. I called looking for help or at least an explanation, as I had already missed my return flight home. I made several attempts, but I could never get anyone to answer the phone. A friendly, English-speaking newsstand owner finally explained to me that this activity was fairly routine in the country on the day following an election. I understand that the losing party uses this day to protest and that the majority party also does not generally work, due to safety concerns and basically a desire to enjoy a free holiday. While this did help to assuage my fears, it did not help me to arrange for any transportation. I did finally manage to reschedule my flight the following day once operations had resumed. I was very disappointed in the Embassy’s lack of availability to its own nationals during such a tumultuous time. At the very least, I feel that an answering service or even an automated response with an option to hear a recorded message about the post-election strike would have been greatly beneficial to me. I hope that you will consider these options for the sake of future travelers. Sincerely, Paul Wiseman Downloaded from http://www.wikihow.com