The Story of Nathan Cohen, A Man Without Country

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By:

Team of Hukumindo

Previously, the www.hukumindo.com platform has talk about "Trump Has Ban For Foreign Students Visa, Especially Who Wants to Studies at Harvard", "Indonesian citizens Arrested in KSA Regarding Fake Hajj", you may read also "Three Chinese Tourists Arrested for Carrying Hermit Crabs" and on this occasion we will discuss about 'The Story of Nathan Cohen, A Man Without Country'.

Nathan Cohen, nicknamed “the man without a country,” was a wanderer who wandered from country to country and was rejected everywhere. He eventually died alone in Westport, Connecticut, United States (US), in 1916, at the age of 37. Cohen’s story was largely forgotten until 2019, when Lori Gandini, a registrar at the Westport Civil Registry Office, stumbled upon his death certificate while reorganizing old documents. It stated that Cohen was “a man without a country.” Her discovery prompted an investigation by historians from the Westport Museum for History and Culture, who uncovered Cohen’s complicated life story—one of betrayal, deportation, and rejection. The beginning of the journey: From Russia to America. Cohen was born in 1878 in the small town of Bausk, Russia (now Latvia), which was home to a Jewish community before the Russian Revolution of 1905.[1]

He had lived in Brazil, then moved to the US in May 1912 with 5,000 US $ (around IDR. 81 million) and the hope of starting a new life. At that time, Cohen bought a ship ticket for 45 US $ (now IDR. 731,070) from Rio de Janeiro to New York. Upon arriving in the US, Cohen headed to Virginia to open a small shop with relatives. However, bad luck befell him. His business went bankrupt, his wife was taken away by his own best friend, and he became poor and suffered from mental disorders. Declared insane and deported In 1914, Virginia authorities deemed Cohen “insane” and sent him to a mental hospital in Baltimore. Not wanting to bear the cost of treatment, they handed him over to the Immigration Service in New York. With the pretext that Cohen was “insane” from the start of entering the US, the government decided to deport him to Brazil under the Alien Act of 1798, which allowed the deportation of foreigners who were a burden to the state within the first three years of their arrival.[2]

However, the deportation attempt failed. Brazil rejected Cohen because he was not their citizen. Argentina was also reluctant to accept him. In fact, the US itself would not allow him back in. Within a year, Cohen was “adrift” at sea twice, going back and forth between countries that all closed their doors. Allowed to return to the US On April 18, 1915, hours before the ship took him to Brazil for the fourth time, the acting US Secretary of Labor, John B. Densmore, finally allowed Cohen to re-enter the US. This decision was made thanks to the intervention of retired judge Leon Sanders and the Jewish organization, the Hebrew Sheltering and Guardian Society, which stated that Cohen's mental disorder only emerged after living in the US, not before. They guaranteed Cohen's existence with a $500 bail (around IDR. 8 million) so that he would not become a burden on the state. Cohen was then treated at Ellis Island Hospital, and was transferred to the McFarland Sanatorium in Green's Farms, where he breathed his last on March 3, 1916. His funeral was handled by the Hebrew Free Society in Staten Island, New York. Now, thanks to an accidental discovery and the dedication of historians, Cohen's story is no longer buried.[3] And if you have any legal issue in Indonesia territory, contact us for business inquiry, feel free in 24 hour, we will be glad to assist you. 

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References:

1. "Misteri Nathan Cohen, Pria Tanpa Negara yang Baru Terungkap Usai 103 Tahun", www.kompas.com, Inas Rifqia Lainufar, 24/05/2025, Diakses pada tanggal 10 Juni 2025, Link: https://www.kompas.com/global/read/2025/05/24/090000270/misteri-nathan-cohen-pria-tanpa-negara-yang-baru-terungkap-usai-103-tahun?page=all#page3.

2. Ibid.