Americans stranded abroad as Iran war erupted describe struggle to return home

Amna Nawaz:

When the U.S. ignited a war with Iran last weekend, the State Department advised Americans to depart now from several countries in the region. But airspace closures left thousands of Americans suddenly stranded.

Over the last five days, nearly 24,000 U.S. citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East. This week, we spoke with some of the Americans who were stranded overseas.

Emaan Abbass, American Citizen:

My name is Emaan Abbass. I'm originally Egyptian, but I was born and raised in California. The last 9.5 years, I have lived here in Dubai. There's not really been an easy way out for residents like us.

Colleen West, American Citizen:

My name is Colleen West, and I'm from Lehi, Utah. My husband and I were in Jerusalem, and we were ready to go home, and the war broke out. We got back to Salt Lake yesterday.

Matt Gentile, American Citizen:

My name is Matt Gentile. I'm from Rochester, New York, and I was in the Kurdistan region in Iraq when the war started.

I just got back like two hours ago.

John Almeida, American Citizen:

My name is John Almeida. I'm here with my wife, Susanna (ph) Almeida. We're still in Dubai. We got here about 10 days ago.

We were one day away from catching a flight back, and the days prior to that, this was probably the most amazing vacation we have ever had. Then, the next thing you know, the war breaks out.

Emaan Abbass:

And there were missiles that were being intercepted right overhead, like from my bedroom window, and it was like a cloud of smoke.

John Almeida:

The 28th was probably the scariest day I think we have all ever had in our lives. The missile that fell near the Fairmont Hotel was less than a kilometer away from where we were staying. It was surreal to be standing on the beach and hearing these noises and the ground shaking.

Colleen West:

Our hotel had a bomb shelter, so we actually went down there, and you would either hear a missile go by or see missiles go by, and then you would hear the explosion. And that would happen every couple hours.

Matt Gentile:

I was backpacking around, and I was having an incredible time. My friends that were in Kurdistan notified me of the attacks before the government did, and then I kind of realized I needed to evacuate, because it was probably only going to get worse. But all of the airports in the region closed, because the missiles were flying everywhere.

So we created a plan for me to get to Turkey, and then, from Turkey, I would figure out how to get home.

Colleen West:

We just spent hours trying to figure out, OK, the airport's closed, how do we get out? And it took us two days, didn't sleep. You would sleep maybe for an hour, but not too long because missiles were going all night long, and the sirens in the city, so you were awake and a little bit traumatized.

Emaan Abbass:

Every time we'd hear a loud boom or maybe some jets flying overhead, I would freeze. I'd get emotional.

John Almeida:

Because we have dual citizenship, we have contacted the authorities on both sides, our American passports and our Portuguese passports.

The American Embassy here has been utterly useless, utterly. We called on the day of the attacks, which was a Saturday. We called on the Sunday. We called and called and e-mailed. I mean, you launch an attack and you don't man these stations with support for your citizens?

Conversely, the Portuguese Embassy, a representative answered immediately.

Emaan Abbass:

They had posted a phone number for us to contact for support in terms of helping us evacuate. We called and were on hold for lengthy periods of time. Finally, we get through to someone. They tell us this isn't the right number. You need to call the consulate. And it's basically a recording.

Voice:

Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation at this time.

Emaan Abbass:

We cannot help you, basically. There is no concern for our lives.

Matt Gentile:

I'm still in very much contact with all my friends there, and they keep just sending me more videos of the missiles and bombs, and it's happening across different cities now too. So I'm just kind of worried about them.

Colleen West:

This was a life-changing event for me and my husband and the people that we were with. The whole time, I would think I am so grateful to live in America and to have the freedoms that we have.

Emaan Abbass:

We didn't ask to be a part of this. The neighboring countries did not ask to be a part of this. And the United States and the government decided to take action very recklessly. And it's just unfortunate that you have U.S. citizens who pay their tax dollars to support these wars essentially, and you can't even give them the support to get to a place where they might feel safe.

Amna Nawaz:

And a note: John Almeida, who was featured in that story, was able to get on a flight out of Dubai after we spoke and arrived safely back home, along with his wife, early this morning.