‘I miss my country’: Turlock resident stuck in Iran amid coronavirus pandemic
When Turlock resident Gracie Poutouves boarded a plane for her uncle’s funeral in Iran last month, she brought two bottles of kidney disease medication, thinking it would be enough for the visit.
But then the novel coronavirus grew into a pandemic, prompting airlines to cancel flights that were supposed to bring the 84-year-old back to California on Wednesday. Now, Poutouves says she is stranded 7,000 miles away from home and has about 15 pills left to treat her Stage 3 kidney disease.
“I miss my country, America,” Poutouves told The Bee over the phone from Urmia, Iran, where she is staying with family.
Poutouves left Iran for the United States 56 years ago, before the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran came into power. Today, Iran does not have diplomatic relations with the United States, meaning the American government cannot provide emergency services to its citizens there, according to the State Department website.
So, Poutouves has asked for help from the Embassy of Switzerland, which assists U.S. citizens in Iran, and a friend back in Turlock contacted Congressman Josh Harder’s office. Her friend, Michael Maggetti, said he asked the government to ship a bottle of kidney disease pills to Poutouves, who also relies on medication for pancreatitis, chronic bulimia and low blood pressure.
“We have spoken with (Maggetti) and we’re doing everything we can to get (Poutouves) back home – it’s just been a bit more difficult because we don’t have an embassy in Iran,” Harder said in an emailed statement. “We’ve reached out to the State Department and will keep working to get Gracie back home with her family and friends.”
For now, Poutouves says she is following the Iranian government’s orders to shelter in place and is dealing with back pain after falling in her brother’s house. Across Iran, 1,135 people have died from COVID-19 as of Wednesday, marking the highest death toll after China and Italy. Alleging that U.S. sanctions have hurt the country’s ability to respond to the pandemic, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for them to be lifted, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Poutouves says she feels scared and isn’t the only Iranian American affected by travel restrictions during the pandemic. Of the estimated 1 million people of Iranian descent in the United States, many may be facing similar circumstances, said Parviz Shokat, a collector of political Iranian documents who has given collections to the Library of Congress and Stanford University.
“Nobody knows what to do,” Shokat said. “There’s not any kind of movement or organization that could try to help at this time.”
Other constituents have contacted Harder’s office about difficulties flying home during the pandemic, a spokesperson said, but most have been able to return from other countries. Maggetti has been worrying about Poutouves and said he wants the government to figure out a way to get her back safely.
“She’s a wonderful person,” said Maggetti. “Everybody likes Gracie. She’d give you a hug.”
If other residents need help for issues caused by the coronavirus, Harder asked constituents to call his office.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
