The government shutdown impacts many employees in the D.C. area. But for one federal employee living overseas, it’s been an isolating experience.
The person, whom WTOP has agreed to not use their name, is an employee of the Department of Defense employee based in Germany. They’re missing a full paycheck this pay period, and they said going through a government shutdown abroad is extremely difficult.
“The German nationals and your local neighbors don’t know it’s even happening,” they said. “It’s very isolating.”
They said in addition to working without pay and missing their living allowance, they’re not getting the assistance that federal employees and contractors in the D.C. region are receiving from local nonprofits and businesses stepping up to help out.
“We just really don’t have a lot of resources,” they said. “We do not have that here. There is no plan for that in the community.”
The DOD employee said they’re starting to organize their own food drives on the military base to help other furloughed Americans there get through it.
“There is a community, grassroots effort to build a food pantry, so people that have the means right now are making donations to it,” they said. “So that not only service members, but the DOD civilians that are stationed over here, and even some of the other federal agencies that are stationed overseas … they’re able to also come over and come get supplies if they need to.”
When they tell the locals about what’s going on, “some of my German friends are quite simply aghast that this is even a thing.”
And they said being away from co-workers is hard some days.
“You don’t even have someone to commiserate with, because your colleague may be furloughed, but you’re not. It’s just a new level of isolation and being very, very separated from what’s going on back, and in those conversations, in the U.S.,” they said.
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