The Foreign Service Journal, June 2020

40 JUNE 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL made it all real to them, that they were really going home. Us just showing up and caring— it made people feel better.” U.S. Ambassador Michael Fitzpatrick was also a common figure at Mariscal Sucre air- port in Quito, wearing an American flag ban- dana around his neck like a cowboy, person- ally saying goodbye as Americans boarded the planes to go home. “It means a lot to me to go to the airport,” mused Fitzpatrick. “This is why we joined the Foreign Service—to serve the American people. Every single day.” Pressure Mounts, Testing Strength Despite consular teams working around the clock, flights were intermittent, and it took weeks to get stranded Americans out. Some lashed out on social media and others were quoted in international press saying they felt abandoned by their government. “It was hard to work under all that media pressure,” says Kaypaghian. “Particularly in Guayaquil, which is the epicenter of coronavirus cases for Ecuador.” By late March, the city had captured world attention with grim images of corpses in the streets, and rumors of mass burial sites. As the days ground on, consular managers became increasingly conscious of the need to take care of their staff. “Before State, I was a military man for 24 years,” says Quito Consular Chief Delorey. “And in the Army, the attitude is ‘just get it done.’ But that’s not the case here. You have to let people vent, let them express how hard this is, or even tell them to go home and take a break if they need it.” For Delorey, Operation #AmericansHome was about resil- ience and creativity. It was also about drawing strength from the direct face-to-face with Americans in need. “My staff were magnificent. All of them wanted to be at the airport, they wanted to be helping—even if it meant exposure,” he says, commenting on the team’s commitment to service. At times he had to convince them to take downtime to rest, so they could face another taxing day. For Kaypaghian in Guayaquil, strength came from team- work. “What got us through was the creativity and talent of our officers to find solutions in what was an almost impos- sible situation,” he says of his staff. “And they did.” Amelia Hintzen says she drew strength from colleagues As the days ground on, consular managers became increasingly conscious of the need to take care of their staff. around the world going through similar situations: “My friends serving in China who went to evacuate Americans from Wuhan, they were with me all the time, sending me tips on WhatsApp. That mutual support, I grew to rely on it.” By the beginning of April, Mission Ecuador had repatri- ated thousands of Americans. The team remains in Ecuador, ready to help many more who have decided to hunker down and wait out the crisis. And like most members of the Foreign Service around the world, they are watching the news from home and trying to keep in touch with family members and loved ones, just hoping they will be okay. “This is not just professional. It’s also personal,” says Ambassador Fitzpatrick. “We are all separated from our fam- ilies,” he adds, commenting that his wife and daughter are in the United States. “Helping to reunite Americans with their loved ones in the States, this is our part. This is one thing we can do right now to help in this massive global crisis.” n U.S. Ambassador Michael Fitzpatrick, with his signature red-striped bandana, takes a selfie with a departing American family at Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito. U.S.MISSIONECUADOR