The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2020

56 JULY-AUGUST 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Different Kind of Crisis William Bent ■ San Salvador In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the government of El Sal- vador took extraordinary steps to contain the virus, including banning the entry of foreigners, closing the airport and imple- menting a monthlong stay-at-home order. As you can imagine, these measures significantly affected U.S. citizens in the country, many of whom found themselves stranded because of the airport closure. As events unfolded, the consular section faced numerous difficulties attempting to respond to requests for assistance while contending with our own staffing shortages as a result of the host country’s quarantine and our effort to maintain social distancing. I am proud of how U.S. Embassy San Salvador responded to these challenges. As of this writing in late May, we have repa- triated more than 7,000 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents without, I should add, the availability of U.S. govern- ment–funded charters. It was truly an all-embassy effort: • The political section obtained flight clearances for commer- cial repatriation flights. • Department of Homeland Security/ICE officials allowed us to use their aircraft. • Management section staff helped us with transportation and other logistics. • Public affairs section staff helped ensure that U.S. citizens were informed of their options. One of our vice consuls, while assisting our citizens at the airport during the crisis, told me that this was the most reward- ing experience of her life. I could not agree more: It is an honor to serve the American people in their time of need. The crisis led to amazing cooperation and sharing of best practices between posts. As leader of the San Salvador consular team, I depended heavily on the advice of colleagues in Guate- mala and Honduras, who were dealing with similar challenges in repatriating U.S. citizens. Meanwhile, we were developing our own best practices, which I was able to share with colleagues as far away as India and Ghana via WhatsApp and other social media platforms. One of our stellar Locally Employed staff members, Ingrid Hernandez, developed a web forms–based method to gather information fromU.S. citizens seeking assistance; it saved hundreds of hours of labor and significantly reduced what had become an overwhelming number of phone calls. The Bureau of Consular Affairs then adopted our innovation and, after a slight modification, pushed it out to the field as a best practice. This isn’t my first go-around assisting U.S. citizens during a crisis. In 2006, I traveled to Turkey where my consular col- leagues and I facilitated the evacuation of Americans fleeing military action in Lebanon. In 2010 I helped lead an effort in the Dominican Republic to evacuate U.S. citizens fromHaiti after the earthquake struck. More recently, I coordinated U.S. Embassy Bridgetown’s con- sular response during the 2017 hurricane crisis, when thousands of U.S. citizens sought evacuation after three hurricanes in quick succession cut a destructive swath through the Eastern Carib- bean. But this crisis is different, both because of its global impact and because of the way it affects us all individually. I am here, as are many of my colleagues, serving in a country with limited capacity to respond effectively to a major health crisis or offer proper medical care should one of us fall ill. Separated from fam- ily and friends who are in the United States, I worry about their safety, too. I nevertheless remain more determined than ever to stay here, serving the American people as a U.S. Foreign Service officer. This is what I signed up for. William Bent is a Senior Foreign Service officer currently serving as acting consul general in El Salvador. He is accompanied at post by his wife, Jennifer Smith. Acting Consul General Bill Bent and Locally Employed Staff Member Ingrid Hernandez assist U.S. citizens at El Salvador International Airport in March. U.S.EMBASSYSANSALVADOR/CLAIREDENNIS