Hiram Asmuth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, 2/20/2015

News Conference and Quiet Protest in front of Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building

On Monday, 2/23/2015, at 10:00am in front of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building (1220 SW 3rd, Portland), Professor Ray Christl will make a statement and hold a political protest against the Obama administration. Ray has terminal stage 4 prostate cancer that metastasized into the brain, bones, and lymph glands. He would like for his wife and daughter to fly from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to visit with him these final days of his life. This is a basic human right, to be with your loved ones when you die.

In 2006, Ray and his wife Sina Kim obtained visas and flew to Chicago, IL for Ray's son's wedding. Upon return to Phnom Penh, the US Embassy Representatives assured Ray and Sina that it would be "a virtual breeze" if they ever wished to return to the US.

After teaching at various universities in Cambodia including Pannasastra University (Phnom Penh) for 12 years, Ray came to Portland, OR for a work contract. After the contract ended, Ray went back to Cambodia to be with his wife and daughter. He came back for another work contract in wonderful Portland, OR in September 2013.

On Easter weekend in 2014, Ray was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 prostate cancer, and has since been treated here with the Affordable Care Act and CareOregon. On these programs, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent to sustain Ray's life. He is in the final stages, and the doctors told him he should ask his loved ones to join him as soon as possible.

Sina Kim applied for an emergency visa to visit Ray. She and her daughter were denied and treated disrespectfully. The ambiguous reason for the denial was that there was no guarantee of return should the visas be granted.

We are holding this press conference to bring awareness to this important issue. It is heartless and vindictive to stop families from being together at this most important time. We are calling on the Obama administration to review and expedite this case and grant a temporary visa to Ray's family to visit him.

We are also calling on the Obama administration to investigate the Cambodian embassy and the corrupt tourist visa policy of taking large amounts of money for processing and denying the vast majority of applications.

For information, please contact:

HIRAM ASMUTH
OWNER, ENCORE POLITICAL SERVICES, LLC
[email protected]
503-757-5751

No it is not a Human Right.

Lifes not fair. Sad story. Hope all the best.

Very sorry to hear this about Ray Christl, who I assume is the same Ray Christl I used to read on twitter and 440. I can pretty much imagine exactly why they are being denied a visa, and it's very unfortunate but should not have been unexpected in these circumstances. This is not corruption, but just the critia for any applicant (that the applicant must prove to the embassy's satisfaction that they will leave before the visa expires), and given the circumstances the embassy's contention that the visa holders might not honor the terms of the visa is not unreasonable. I am sure that Prof Christl doesn't need any more on his plate right now, but this is the sort of thing that should have been smoothed out back when he was healthy enough to deal with it. Though I don't hold high hope, let's hope the embassy can see it in their heart to allow this for humanitarian reasons, and screw the fact that there is a reasonable chance they won't leave.

Let this be a lesson to other expats to register straight away your children with the embassy as citizens born abroad (so they won't need a visa), as well as getting your wife's visa/green card situation straight before you are in an emergency situation like this.

Yeah, sucks but they kind of have to deny these cases, for reasons stated.

If I was him I'd make an attempt at a wild dash to Cambodia (if even possible, of course. Not knowing anything about stage 4 prostate cancer, this night be the silliest idea ever).

LTO yes it's the same Ray....he lost his right eye a month or two ago....he still post happy thoughts on his facebook page most days...GM I will suggest he jumps on a plane and ends it here...so sad...

I spent a lot of time with a good friend here a few years back as he slowly died of ever spreading cancer. It was very hard, very painful. There is no proper palliative care here, nor easy access to the appropriate drugs. And he probably died a few months before he would have had he had appropriate medical care, and certainly in significantly more pain. But he died as he chose, playing chess and smoking smoke with his friends everyday, with his wife and children around him all the time and until the last minute, in his own house, in his own bed. It was brave and difficult and very sad and personal and on his own terms (or at least as much as it can be with cancer.) I'll never forget, a couple weeks before he departed, sitting on his porch with him in Sihanoukville, smoking. I picked up his dwindling bag of stash and asked if he was running low, implying that I could pick some up for him if needed. He nudged the bag and said, "more than enough to last the rest of my life I think," looked at me and chuckled wryly. I tried to laugh too.

Man, that's some serious stuff.

If I was Ray, I'd rather die in 2 days with my wife and kids, than possibly live another 6 months in a hospital getting "good" care.

Again, I have no idea what shape he's in, but I could imagine him having a few adrenaline shots with him to get him there, and then who knows.... He could walk out his room right now and be in Cambodia in less than 24 hours. I'd give it a try.

Good news ...Ray feels fit enough to travel so he is collecting a large bag of meds to sustain him until his exit, and will see his last days out with his family in the Kingdom....good for him...

General Chatter wrote:Good news ...Ray feels fit enough to travel so he is collecting a large bag of meds to sustain him until his exit, and will see his last days out with his family in the Kingdom....good for him...

I think that's a sound decision. Best of luck to him.