CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has reached out to the U.S. State Department seeking a strategy to assist in the evacuation of Americans situated in the Middle East, where ongoing missile attacks have led to flight cancellations.
It is estimated that approximately 1,500 Americans are currently in the Middle East, searching for a safe passage home. Among them are individuals from the Chicago area.
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Paul Armstrong, a Chicago resident, and his wife, Shaily, had long dreamed of visiting Israel to connect with Shaily’s cultural roots. This year, they finally embarked on their journey.
However, just days into their stay, conflict erupted in Iran, altering their plans.
“We arrived about a week ago, fully aware of the potential risks. We were conscious of the military buildup in the Persian Gulf but decided to proceed with our trip. Our plans were delayed by COVID, making this our third attempt in six years,” the couple explained.
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With ongoing missile alerts and uncertainty surrounding the reopening of Israel’s airspace, Paul and Shaily decided to travel by bus to Egypt as they sought a way to return to Chicago.
“Not great, but there’s a silver lining because we were supposed to go to the Dead Sea on the day that the war broke out. So now we get to go see it at least on the way to Taba. So this is going to be our last final tour of Israel,” Paul Armstrong and Shaily Hakimian Armstrong said.
“I don’t think that it’s set in yet in terms of like the endurance challenge this is going to be,” Hakimian Armstrong said.
During a four-hour bus ride to southern Israel, they heard missile sirens in the distance.
“There’s been some moments during this thing where it’s like you hear the, like is there a siren? Is there not a siren? A lot of the missiles were very concentrated up north, and we were in an area where very few missiles were coming in,” Hakimian Armstrong said.
From Taba, Egypt, the couple will hopefully fly to Athens, Greece, then Frankfurt, Germany and finally O’Hare.
“We’re talking an extra $1,400 when our roundtrip was originally supposed to be around 12,” Hakimian Armstrong said.
If there are no delays, that couple from Lakeview is scheduled to arrive in Chicago Thursday night, some 40 hours after beginning their trip.
They aren’t the only Americans stranded in the Middle East.
A group of friends from the north suburbs is in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where a suspected Iranian drone struck near the U.S. Consulate.
They’ve maxed out their credit cards, they say, booking one canceled flight after another.
“Physically and emotionally, we really, each one of us hit a wall today at different points and just trying to stay together and trying to keep it together,” Leslie Allenspach of Schaumburg said.
Wednesday morning, they said their flight to Singapore was canceled. Their next hope is a flight to Prague on Friday.
While discouraged, they are trying to stay hopeful.
“Something needs to happen,” Natalie Potesta of Lindenhurst said. “Something needs to occur quickly, and the organization needs to start now for that to happen.”
The U.S. State Department is now preparing military and charter flights to get Americans out of the region.
Some flights from the Middle East, connecting through Europe, were beginning to arrive at O’Hare Wednesday.
Officials are directing travelers to a hotline with a new message Wednesday morning, “The U.S. is committed to helping U.S. citizens who want to leave the region to do so. If you are calling for assistance for travel, please stay on the line.”
Still, it’s unclear if it could take days or weeks to get everyone out.
The State Department is urging all Americans to register on its website, as transportation plans unfold.
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