I am a retiree who was stranded in Lima, Peru, with my spouse for 35 days from March 16 after the Peruvian government imposed a state of emergency and closed its borders and airspace and barred all flights from entering or leaving the country. On April 18, we were airlifted to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on a Malaysian charter flight together with other Malaysians as well as Thais, Japanese, Brazilians, Australians, etc.

During our month’s stay in Lima, we interacted with the staff of the Malaysian embassy in Lima who were looking after stranded Malaysians in both Bolivia and Peru. Notable among them were Lailatul-Akmal Abd Rahman, Third Secretary who was responsible for Malaysians in Peru, and Syed Ahmad Naufal Syed Isa, Second Secretary who was responsible for Malaysians in Bolivia. They were instrumental in planning and scheduling the exit of Malaysians from the two countries. Behind the scenes was Ambassador Fenny Nuli who worked tirelessly and concerned herself with the welfare of stranded Malaysians in both countries. Here are some of the highlights of our experience:

> Malaysia was the only Asean country to charter an aircraft to get stranded foreign nationals out of Bolivia and Peru before the latter imposed even more stringent conditions on humanitarian flights effective April 21.

> Closer towards the day of repatriation, these embassy staff members were maniacally focused on bringing those stranded in remote towns across Peru and Bolivia by vehicle to La Paz (in Bolivia) and Lima, to be staged at hotels before group departures to the airports in the two countries.



> Much effort was expended on the logistics of transport and of getting the necessary landing and exit approvals from the Bolivian, Peruvian and Brazilian governments. These required interactions at many levels and included assistance from Wisma Putra in Malaysia.



> Over the 35 days, both Laila and Naufal kept everyone abreast of developments such as of seat availability on charters arranged by the governments of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. Additionally, they encouraged us to remain positive, continually uplifting our spirits.



> They provided clear advisories on what we could and could not do during the state of emergency and on how we could navigate the various countries with their recently changed entry requirements. Nothing was missed out.



On the day of our repatriation from the military airport in Lima, they had local staff working at the Malaysian embassy giving out drinking water and sanitisers for the journey ahead.



Much praise has been heaped on our Health director-general and frontliners at work in Malaysia but equally deserving of accolades are the many unsung heroes in our Foreign Affairs Ministry. The proof is in the pudding when one of the Japanese evacuees came up to thank me as a Malaysian for helping to evacuate her from Peru! And when an Australian evacuee remarked he would still be stuck in Bolivia now if not for the humanitarian efforts of Malaysia.



Laila and Fenny displayed their human sides as well when the former lamented about her 10-month-old's medical problem and the latter about her sleeplessness over the past one month.



They are truly Malaysians holding our flag high. Led by Fenny, the embassy staff demonstrated dedication, professionalism and commitment – they even turned up at the airport to bid us farewell!



I would like to conclude by stating that in our faith, we believe in angels. Because we believed, they existed in the Malaysian embassy in Peru, and their only philosophy is love.



TAN BOON EE & LEE YUPIN



Kuala Lumpur