The anxious parents of 19-year-olds Harvey Le Sueur, Lucas Burton, Christian Jones and Fergus Taylor – who are allowed out onto the streets of Lima just once a day to buy supplies or go to the pharmacy – say they feel let down by the British government which, as of last night, had refused to repatriate its nationals from the country.
Anyone caught moving around the capital between 8pm and 5am has been threatened with arrest, according to the group, and supplies and water are said to be running low in some parts of the city.
News of their situation comes as Condor yesterday began an emergency repatriation of Channel Islanders from St Malo ahead of French borders being closed to passengers. Blue Islands also ran flights to get people home from Guernsey before the island’s isolation deadline closes.
And the Government of Jersey said it was working with the UK Foreign Office to support residents stranded overseas who needed help returning home.
Germany has reportedly launched a €50 million rescue effort to repatriate its nationals from Peru, while rescue flights have also been arranged by other countries. However, so far there is no sign of a similar operation from Britain.
Instead, the group of teenagers, who had been enjoying a gap year adventure in South America since January, and had already travelled through Argentina, are confined to a hotel room in the Peruvian capital, Lima.
Harvey’s mother, Gemma Le Sueur, said the group had been at an oasis in a remote part of the country when global events escalated and their families woke them up with a phone call telling them to get a bus to Lima immediately. Once there, they were given just 18 hours by the authorities to get out of the country, which then went into lockdown, as borders were closed and emergency measures put in place.
‘You can imagine the panic,’ she said. ‘Flights were literally being cancelled in front of our eyes. We managed to get them on one flight to Sao Paulo and then out but then the borders were closed. They queued at the airport for about eight hours to get to the desk, only to be told what we already knew – that all the flights were full. But we had to try. We managed to book them into a hotel for two nights. The riot police arrived as they were leaving the airport because things were getting out of control.’
She added that she knew of at least one other Jersey person, who is unconnected to the group, currently stranded in Peru. The teenagers are communicating with hundreds of other Britons stranded in Lima and Cusco via a group on the messaging app WhatsApp.
And while their travel agency has been helpful, Ms Le Sueur said the Foreign Office had not.
‘The UK government is doing nothing for us. We are very frustrated and upset,’ she said, adding that the families were doing their best to keep the teenagers calm. ‘I feel very anxious and quite emotional – he is my youngest son. He may be 19 and healthy and strong but at this time you just want your kids home. I don’t want him to think he can’t come home; that is a horrible feeling.
‘They are also not in the best place if they do get sick, and I just feel let down. I know it is an unprecedented situation and the world has gone into meltdown but we need to be listened to. It just needs one flight to help repatriate people. And the Peruvian government has said they will co-operate with flights coming in, but nobody is prepared to send a plane at the moment.’
