"The alarms go off, and they said shelter in place for security and flights were grounded that day. [The government] said airspace is closed from now on and every day, we're like, 'When is it going to open? Is it going to be tomorrow?' The two said they didn't hear or receive any information from the Canadian government until March 4, after they reached out to Global Affairs Canada."
"It was this surreal moment because you're in this stunning place, Qatar is beautiful and very manicured and you're not fully putting these two things together ... it didn't feel real. Westlake said they heard loud noises, which sounded like bombs, and vibrations last weekend during Iranian retaliatory attacks on Israeli and U.S. bases across the Middle East."
Vahid Afrakhteh and Jessica Westlake from Guelph, Ontario, became trapped in Qatar after airspace closed following U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran on February 28. Originally scheduled to fly to Thailand on March 1, they experienced shelter-in-place orders and heard explosions during Iranian retaliatory attacks. Despite registering with Canada's Registration of Canadians Abroad service, they received no government contact until March 4, when they initiated contact with Global Affairs Canada themselves. The couple expressed frustration about feeling abandoned and disappointed by the lack of proactive support from the Canadian government during the crisis.
#canadians-stranded-abroad #middle-east-conflict #government-assistance #travel-crisis #qatar-airspace-closure
Read at www.cbc.ca
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