MIAMI.- A plane from the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) transported 21 Floridians rescued from the armed conflict in Haiti to Orlando International Airport.
According to Kevin Guthrie, director of FDEM, Governor Ron DeSantis entrusted him with the mission of repatriating Floridians trying to leave the Caribbean country. Since then, “the Division is working 24 hours a day on all available avenues to bring our residents home.”
The FDEM rescue flight this Sunday, March 24, was the second, last Wednesday another FDEM plane brought 14 Florida residents to Orlando. An estimated 500 Floridians are trying to flee the armed conflict.
The difficulty of the rescue mission is that we are working with a government that does not exist, we only have “the help of some federal and Haitian officials to carry out these flights,” said Guthrie, who stressed that every day the mission must solve bureaucratic problems to obtain the permits that allow the operation to be carried out.
FDEM planes are arriving in Orlando because US Customs and Border Protection in that city has longer hours.
Upon landing in Orlando, rescued Floridians have access to numerous resources from state agencies, private sector partners and volunteer organizations, including: meals and water; accommodation; transport; basic medical and health exams; Supplies for caring for babies, toddlers, seniors and pets. They also have a family reunification center; mental health counselors and therapy dogs; a children’s activity center; cell phones, SIM cards and charging stations; and ID replacements through the Mobile License Center Florida License on Wheels (FLOW), listed in a statement from the Division.
One of the milestones that marked the current deterioration in the Caribbean nation took place on July 7, 2021, when Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated as a result of the confrontation between criminal gangs. Since then, chaos has reigned, reaching unsustainable levels of violence these days.
@menendezpryce
