Dear fellow DKos people,
I am a long time lurker and have only written one or two posts, so I am really kind of a newbie and please be gentle. My group and I are stranded in Peru with no end in sight as of now. The following is a letter we wrote to our Senator Tammy Baldwin and Congressman Mark Pocan, imploring her to put pressure on the administration. If you have a free moment today, please forward on to your Senators, or anyone else you think could help.
PLEASE do not leave comments that we should not have gone there in the first place. There was no travel advisory at the time we went since this administration had downplayed the situation. It is not helpful, it is hurtful, and yes, we are painfully aware of the consequences of our travel. PLEASE help or move on, we are frayed.
Dear Senator Baldwin:
We are a group of 4 Wisconsinites from Madison, currently in Cusco, Peru.
We are in a dire situation and can think of no better person to reach out to than you. We came to Peru for a humanitarian medical mission to serve the indigenous Incans of the Q'eros Nation, high in the Andes Mountains. Two days after we got here, the COVID19 news started exploding, even in previously relatively untouched South America. After many discussions, it was determined that it would be safer for them if we halted the mission, they stay hunkered down in the mountains, and we stay in the city. Because they lack running water, electricity, and even the most basic access to healthcare, the spread of an infection could be devastating for them.
We were heartbroken as we had been planning this for almost a year. We decided to remain in Peru for a time to sightsee, because we were hearing the reports and seeing the pictures of the clogged and unsafe conditions at the airports in the US.
Then, with less than 24 hours notice, and most of that time being overnight, the President of Peru blindsided everyone by closing the borders for a 15 day mandatory quarantine. No flights in or out. No movement is allowed out of your current housing situation other than to go to a pharmacy, bank, hospital or food market. Photography is prohibited. Alcohol sales are prohibited. There is a mandatory curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. The fully battle-garbed national police and military patrol every corner and are armed and aggressive.
Our US Embassy in Lima is an emergency only skeleton crew and has posted a notice on the door saying only to rely on changing your commercial flight with your airline. Of course the airlines are completely in chaos, their websites unable to handle the volume, they are not answering their phones and they are cancelling flights without notification. Avianca, a Latin American carrier has suspended all operations until April 30 and we hear that other carriers are not far behind. This is obviously untenable.
President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo say they just learned about this and that it only affects about 300 students. There has been an impromptu Facebook group formed called "Americans Stuck in Peru" which has a spreadsheet circulating with more than 1200 names already registered on it. In addition, his position is that because you did not get out in time with your 16 hour warning, too bad for you. He says he is working with the military, however there was a report on CNN saying the military has heard no such thing. There is now a directive that all Americans should return to the US or plan to shelter in place indefinitely. It's hard to get home when no flights or any movement by land or sea is permitted. People are running out of medications, they have small children they need to get home to, and are medical professionals who need to be at work in the US. In addition, by not allowing US citizens who desperately want to leave, this puts strain on the dwindling resources of Peru - medical, food and housing.
We need you to assert pressure on this administration to take steps to get Americans home. What happened to no Americans left behind? Any help you could lend to support this effort would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Brown, Dr. Dana Lubet, Dr.Abdulcadir Sido, and Samantha Atkinson
I am editing to say that I am humbled and overwhelmed by your responses and your recommendations. And the rec list WOW. I am going out for our only permissible thing to leave the hostal for, the Mercado for some food for lunch, so I will check back later to continue the dialog. Thank you so much. You folks rock.
Saturday, Mar 21, 2020 · 3:13:45 PM +00:00
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glassgirl
Thanks again for all your support. Here is an update: We have contacted the U.S. Embassy (they were all flown out yesterday, so no more help from them!), Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson, Conressman Mark Pocan, Joe Biden and Rachel. My family and friends have all shared with their Reps. We are registered with the Smart Traveler program and iPeru, which are supposed to notify with any updates. A person from Sen. Baldwin’s office contacted me and took all of our party’s information, saying they were working on charter flights. However, an email from her office arrived this morning, towing the embassy line about continuing to try to contact the airlines and line up your own way out. This same info was sent by Johnson and Pocan offices. So really, I have no idea if anything is actually happening.
In addition, Peru’s Secretary of State (?) last night stated that today is the last day they are going to let flights out; Sunday the airport is absolutely closed. Your government did not get it’s shit together like every other country, so sorry. Chileans, Mexicans, Israelites and Canadians have all been flown out, and the Swiss today. Why not the US? Hmmm, I wonder. There have been many opinions on the Facebook page as to whether this acyually applies to us or just Peruvian Nationals, so I don’t know about the validity of this. Again, no concrete information from US.
The police continue to become more aggressive, raiding homes with lights on at night asking why they are still up and looking for drinking. One man coming home from the market was shoved up against the wall, reportedly for sassing the police, but I don’t believe it. Really seems unlikely that you would sass a soldier with a huge gun. You are no longer allowed in any market without a mask and only one person per dwelling allowed out for food.
On the bright side, I was able to get through on the LATAM website this morning for the first time, and it appears that the flight we had originally booked is not yet cancelled as so many people are experiencing. So, if the quarantine is lifted, and our reservation does not get cancelled, we may have a way home. However, the prevailing gossip is that it seems unlikely the quarantine will be lifted as scheduled, so who knows. This is the worse problem — the whole uncertainty of the situation and the lack of help from the U.S.
I spent greater than ten hours on the computer yesterday writing, emailing, trying to contact people for information and airlines. I’m ok, but pretty fried after that. For self preservation, I’m going to try to stay off a little more today and maybe work on my knitting. Can’t go outside for a walk! I will continue to read your comments, and TRULY appreciate all your kindness, but probably won’t comment anymore today. Contact your Senators if you haven’t already. Thanks again.