Is this email a phishing attempt or is it real?

It could be either

This is difficult to tell. Firstly, if the person is someone youve had contact with or that you know then it could be a legitimate plea for help. However, on the flip side their account could be compromised and this could be a simple attempt to obtain money from you. The email has poor levels of punctuation, usually a good identifier for a phishing attempt. The simple way to find out is to contact that person by other methods should you be able to. You could even respond back asking something only you would know about this person but only as a last resort. Never hand over any details or financial information without verifying this person is who they say they are first.