Lockdown in Delhi has left Chicagoans Chris and Caeli Santa Maria stranded, with their two little children wait for them back home in the US.
A couple from Chicago reached Delhi, India on March 1, to culminate their long dream. 18 months ago, Chris and Caeli Santa Maria had begun the process of adopting a baby girl from India. Earlier this month, when they went to pick up their baby daughter after all the formalities were complete, they never imagined how hard it would be to come back home.
While they have their adopted daughter, 18-month-old Elli with them, their two other children are waiting for them back home in West Chicago. The couple had to face the sudden lockdown in Delhi just a week after they arrived. In the mean time they’re trying to finish all the formalities, such as securing a passport and visa, for their new baby.
However, with another 21-day lockdown announced in India, the couple is currently stuck, unable to return to their home.
Caeli Santa Maria shared, “The Department of State sent out a mail to us and they are working on repatriation flights, but last we heard, they hadn’t found an airline willing to help.” Caeli added that over 1,000 other US citizens are currently stuck in India.
Recalling her stay in India, these past many days, especially at a time when there is a feeling of fear-mongering among local Indians that foreigners may be bringing the disease, she shared her journey in Delhi to secure a visa for their new baby girl. She says, “On our drive to the US Embassy, we were stopped by the police four times at roadblocks, as India is now on a total lockdown for 21 days, but the Embassy sent us a letter giving us clearance and thankfully it worked.”
She added, “We wore masks because everyone does here and we thought it would make the police less suspicious of us – seems foreigners are sticking out even more than normal these days.”
According to the state department in the US some 13,500 American citizens are stranded in various countries across the globe. American authorities say that they have been making repatriation efforts to bring its citizens back.
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