THE PETITION:

We the undersigned, endorse the following petition:

To prevent any more Murders occuring abroad due to the apparent negligence or failure of our United States Consulates to follow their own directives. To Hold the U.S. Consulate Accountable to follow the directions of their Job Description and Goals as stated in part is as follows;

"Our primary goal is to provide assistance to and protect the welfare of American Citizens who live abroad."

"We are commited to providing prompt, courteous, and effective assistance."

"Consular officers are responsive to the needs of Americans travelling or residing abroad. The majority of their time is devoted to assisting Americans who are in serious legal, medical or financial difficulties."

 

Target: Congressman Howard Berman

Congressman Henry Hyde

Congressman Henry A. Waxman

Consul General, the Chinese Consulate in L.A. Office of the Inspector General (U.S.)

President George W. Bush

Senator Barbara Boxer

Senator Dianne Feinstein

U.S Department of State - Michelle Bernier-Toth

Congressman Christopher Smith

U.S. Consulate - Guangzhou, China

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Secretary of State - Condoleezza Rice

My son, Darren Russell, was murdered in Guangzhou, China on April 14th, 2005. He would be alive today if it were not for the apparent negligence of our U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou.

Darren entered into a contract to teach English at a school in China. Unfortunately the school he was teaching at failed to honor the terms of his contract. His class sizes were substantially increased, as well as his teaching and preparation time. After working approximately 70-80 hours per week, seven days per week, teaching and preparing written lesson plans daily for grades 1-12, he became ill, running a high fever and required painful intravenous injections for bronchitis.

He asked his director to let him work only six days a week. She refused and ordered him out of his apartment within an hour (five suitcases, 17 resource books, clothes, etc.). Then three staff members from the school drove Darren clear across town and checked him into a hotel at his expense. The hotel was located in a high crime area where violent crimes including murders and robberies are reported on a daily basis by the media. Darren was robbed his first night at the hotel.

Darren called us and informed us he just wanted to return home. We immediately wired $500.00 via Western Union and
$1500.00 to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Both Western Union and ICBC refused to release the money to Darren due to their bureaucratic policies in Guangzhou. We still cannot get the money released to us, even with tremendous documentation.

I, e-mailed Keith Schneller 30 times at our U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou as well as leaving five telephone messages. I also spoke telephonically with Kirn Braich, Vice Counsel at the United States Consulate in Guangzhou (after Darren's murder). He informed me that the consulate gets hundreds of e-mails a day and they do not have time to read them.

Further, my son spoke to the U.S. Consulate directly and the only action they took was to call the hotel to say, "Comfort him". Hours before his murder, Darren left a message on my husband's cell phone saying, "Please, please help me. I am so scared, I have never been this scared in my entire life."

It is apparent that the U.S. Consulate and Chinese Police have covered-up the facts. They claim Darren was hit by a commercial truck. I have been given 21 different versions of what happened to our son. But the facts are that his body had no lacerations, cuts, bruises, racoon eyes or broken bones. I have obtained documentation from experts that our son's death was not caused by any type of accident with any vehicle.

Darren was hit over the head and his skull was split nearly in half. Initial photographs showed Darren's facial cheeks to look normal. However, upon the return of his body to the United States it was evident that he was also struck in the face. There were fist marks on one cheek which had been covered up.

In order to have their son's body returned to the United States, we had to pay nearly $10,000 to transport him home plus another $1,000 to the hospital. The U.S Vice-Counsel, Kirn Braich, promised me the records would be translated into English. However when we received the records they were in Chinese, from another hospital and of a different patient (a female suffering from depression.)

After sending the money, to obtain our son's body, the U.S. Consulate informed us "The Chinese Police will hold Darren's body for five to eight months and quarantine him for an infectious disease unless you sign a letter stating his death was an accident and you will not prosecute or investigate".

I travelled to China after the burial and went to the U.S. Consulate and asked why they did not help Darren. They informed me, "I was not a party to what happened, but everything was handled according to United States law in an appropriate manner. We don't help Americans in distress. There are too many of them". I was also informed they were understaffed, yet they had 7,000 adoptions in 2004 by U.S. citizens of Chinese babies and children.

Their own job description states, U.S. Consular officers are available to advise and help you, especially if you are in any kind of serious trouble. Consular officers are responsive to the needs of Americans travelling and residing abroad. However, the majority of their time is devoted to assisting Americans who are in serious legal, medical or financial difficulties.Our son had all three difficulties. He was robbed and penniless. He was ill with a high fever and suffered from serious bronchitis. His visa was returned to him with only one day remaining before it expired.

Our U.S. Consulate is not there only to meet with wealthy businesspersons and politicians. They are there to help us. Please make them accountable for their promises and duties as described in their own job description, to prevent any more senseless murders to occur.

PLEASE ENSURE EACH FIELD IS FILLED OUT