Spring 2024
WARMLY WELCOMED BACK TO THE US
Early in March, as the gang violence in Port-au-Prince increased and the international airport was forced to close, the US Embassy strongly suggested that all US citizens consider leaving Haiti. Not knowing how widespread the violence would become, Cherlie and I (Dr. Wolf) decided that we should make an effort to leave the country. But, we knew this would be a difficult task because there were no routine flights in or out of the country.
We registered with the US State Department as well as FEMA in Florida, since we have a residence in West Palm Beach. We also discussed with Agape Flights, the mission flight service that brings cargo to us here in Jérémie, the possibility of going back to the US with them.
On March 24th, with only 18 hours’ notice, we were able to get a ride on a plane that was sent by FEMA to pick up two visitors (one American and one Canadian) here in Jérémie. We were told to be at the airport by 12:00 PM and when we arrived, the gates to the airport were closed and all doors of the terminal were locked.
That wasn’t a good sign!
Around 12:30 PM a small cargo plane circled around a few times and finally landed, pulling into the parking area near the Jérémie terminal.
Some of the airport staff, who lived nearby, opened the doors to go speak with the pilot but we weren’t allowed into the terminal. It appeared that the plane did not have proper authorization to land in Jérémie and they were, therefore, not allowed to take off again with us on board.
What followed was four hours of discussion, negotiation, communication with the airport authorities, communication with the US embassy, an exchange of money and, finally, authorization for us to board the plane and take off.
But, we had to land in Cap Haitien, in north Haiti, to pass through immigration, have our passports stamped and receive clearance to leave Haiti. This time, it only took 2 hours to discuss, negotiate and pay their fees, after which we were allowed to board the plane again.
We arrived at the main terminal in Orlando around 11:00 PM and were escorted to an area where several FEMA staff were present to warmly greet us and welcome us back home. After loading us down with sandwiches and drinks, we were put in a car for the road trip down to West Palm Beach and our condo.
It was a long day but we were very grateful to be back in the US!
