The Beaverton couple landed in Portland Thursday night reunited with family after quite an unexpected journey.
Amanj Habibi said, “It feels pretty amazing like it took us quite a while to get to here from trying to escape Wuhan to get back into Wuhan to fly into the U.S. to go into quarantine and then get back to Portland.” That pretty much sums it all up.
But it was back in January that Amanj Habibi and his wife flew to Wuhan on a vacation to visit family they spent two weeks at a family member’s house three hours outside of the city all while under strict lockdown orders and then trying to leave quickly became a problem.
Habibi said, “We knew the virus was taking place, but we never knew it would become this much of a problem and spread this much.”
With the help of the State Department and the U.S. Embassy, the couple was finally evacuated on a Government plane with other Americans.
“There was another person who had the coronavirus on our plane, so we’re just kind of anxious, trying to figure out what’s going on,” Habibi said.
Then came a two-week quarantine stay at a military base in Omaha, Nebraska where strangers became friends. “We started to be more social and kind of hang out a little bit,” Habibi explained. “We did karaoke.” A highlight in an otherwise tough situation and far from the adventure they were expecting.
The couple is now relieved to finally be home, safe, and healthy. “Thank you to everyone who took part in this I really appreciate it,” Habibi commented. “We could not have been here without you guys.”
Habibi said he’s going back to work next week. His wife works with children and isn’t planning to go back to work for another two weeks.
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