Tens Of Thousands Of Russian and Ukrainian Tourists Are Stranded All Over The World

             Please imagine your worst travel nightmare for the moment. You and your family are at a luxury resort in Thailand. You have been there a couple of weeks. You have run up a bill of thousands of dollars including room charges, meals, gift shop purchases, and services like haircuts. Your bill is guaranteed by your Platinum American Express card. You have had this card for several years. You have a high credit limit. You always pay your bills on time. Nothing can go wrong; right?

     You are called to the front desk. The assistant manager informs you that your credit card has been declined after several attempts. You pull out your wallet for an alternate card. Your black Visa card with a high limit is declined. Your high-limit Master Card is declined.

You get on the computer and look up all these credit cards. You find that they have been canceled due to US sanctions over the Russian invasion. You still have some hope. You have a Union Bank card from China. You attempt to use that card and it is declined. You check that website. The Russian Ruble has crashed to less than 1 cent to the US dollar. Your credit limit has taken a huge and unexpected drop. You have no other way to pay the bill. Hotel management is understanding. Your bill is cut. You are allowed a few more days to get money to settle your account and book your return flight to Russia. You find out that no Russian planes are flying. Hotel management tells you that they will have to retain your passports until the account is settled. You are facing the prospect of living on the streets with no money to even buy food.

    Some 6,500 Russian tourists and 1,000 Ukrainian tourists find themselves in this position right now in Thailand. Here is the story from ABC News as follows:

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/cashless-flightless-russian-tourists-stuck-thailand-83405843?fbclid=IwAR05lD679EZEzNoI2c_xoFAEWc8Y75EskIXc5Ydv2VznyLVd6qwEfiHMuAk

   

      Rest assured that this same story is playing out all over the world with stranded Russian and Ukrainian tourists. We can only take wild guests at the total number. It is another aspect of the human suffering caused by this invasion.

     I went to a law school in West Australia from 1984-to 1985. I did not graduate, I learned a lot about the law. If you fail to pay the rent on your apartment or the mortgage (bond) payment on your house, this is a civil matter. Eventually, you will be evicted.

     If you fail to pay a hotel bill anywhere in the world, it is a criminal offense. Centuries ago, Britain came up with a criminal law called "Defrauding an Inn Keeper." It has spread all over the world. In countries with a British Common Law heritage, this criminal offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. Things get uglier when you come to the United States. Some years ago in Los Angeles, a man was sentenced to five years in prison for failure to pay a $65,000 hotel bill owed to a Beverly Hills hotel. I once was in a hotel in Little Rock, Arkansas. Posted on the door were evacuation instructions in case of a fire and a copy of the Arkansas Defrauding an Inn Keeper statue. The maximum penalty under this law was 20 years in the Arkansas state prison.

     Things get really ugly when one goes to a Muslim country that uses Sharia law. The maximum penalty for not paying a lawful debt is death by hanging or beheading. (Over the last 24 hours Saudi Arabia carried out 81 executions.)

     These poor stranded tourists could also face criminal prosecution for Defrauding an Inn Keeper.