Cork couple stuck in Peru under martial law appeal for government help
A couple from Cork have again appealed for help from the government to have them and about 38 other Irish people brought back to Ireland from Peru.
They are among about 40 Irish tourists trapped there under martial law as the country deals with the worsening COVID-19 crisis.
And they have just been informed less than 24 hours to get out of the country.
If they don’t - they face arrest if caught outside their hotel, food rationing and growing hostility from local people.
Andrew Cotter, from Mitchelstown, and his girlfriend Marie Barry, from Conna, were given just a few hours notice that tourists had to
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And they have been trying ever since to get a flight out of the country, which is now under a military-imposed lockdown expected to last until at least March 31.
The couple are in a hotel in Cusco, some 20 hours by land from the country’s capital city, Lima.
They have called on the Irish governments to get them out.
However, the only flight available to them at the moment is going to cost between $3,500 and $7,500 - money Mr Cotter and his girlfriend do not have.
He told the Irish Examiner: “As the situation here in Peru is deteriorating by the day, we ask that the government please do your utmost to repatriate Irish Citizens.
“Just as the French/German/Israel/Mexico governments have done in the last few days.
“The Peruvian government has today stated all repatriation flights will be stopped from March 22.
Other countries have been able to solve this within the last six days, can you tell me why the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs cannot?
“Can we ask other countries for help if we can't manage it ourselves?
“With over 600 people dead today from the virus we need your help to get home.”
And he added: “We have today been told that food rationing has to be increased as food availability is reducing.
“The portions are meager at best.
“We go out to the supermarket singly and try to get some non-perishable food to supplement this although we do so only every few days.
“We are not to gather in groups within the hostel in case the police raid and shut down the place, which has happened to neighboring hostels.
“Staff in the hostel as great and doing their best to look after us.
“I won't say I fear for our safety but the uncertainty is worrying.
“Some people do not have the money to be able to hold out for more than a few weeks not to mind the excessive cost of potential flights back to UK.
“There is an air of hostility against foreigners, examples being not allowed into supermarkets by police, locals shouting and offering rude gestures.”
A spokesperson for Peru’s president announced today: “Tomorrow is the last day that facilities are being given to foreigners to leave and to compatriots to return.
“The president has ordered that as of Sunday all airports and all borders are closed completely to take a much stricter measure.
“It had been relaxed due to the problems our compatriots had abroad and the main compatriots who had problems in other countries are being repatriated.
“As of Sunday, all airports are closed and immobilization measures at the national level are extreme.”
Earlier this week, Andrew told the Irish Examiner he had been in contact with the Irish embassy in Chile and the consulate in Bolivia.
He was offered a “potential” flight back to London this weekend at a cost between $3,500 and $7,500 dollars.
But, he said, most people will not be able to afford that flight if it goes ahead.
They are two of four Irish staying at the Milhouse Hostel in the southeastern city of Cusco, where most of the Irish are staying.
The couple was two and a half months into their eight-month South and Central America trip, which started on December 31 in Rio, Brazil.
While flights normally cost about €300, the Irish Embassy has told Mr Cotter the high price being asked for “reflects the cost of bringing a sufficiently-large plane to Peru, a connecting smaller flight from Cusco, and what is involved in negotiating permissions from the authorities”.
He said the email the couple received from the Irish Embassy also told them: “Avianca can only commit to this charter once they know there is sufficient demand.
“This is the only charter option we are aware of that is likely to be available direct to London at this point.”
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