©Jildau van Dam Students Jildau van Dam and Ruben Lombarg, who were stranded in Peru during their internship as a result of the corona crisis, have returned to the Netherlands. They were able to board a German repatriation flight.
Jildau van Dam, bachelor student Land and Water Management, was unable to complete her internship because of the corona pandemic and subsequent lock-down and was mandated to stay inside in her home in the city of Cuzco. In consultation with WUR and the Dutch embassy, she searched for ways to return home.
Embassies
Van Dam and Lombarg returned to the Netherlands in several stages. On 2 April they were able to board a Belgian bus travelling from Cuzco to the Peruvian capital Lima. They were hoping to catch a Belgian flight to Brussels on 4 April. But on 3 April Van Dam received a call from the German embassy, telling her they would be able to board a German repatriation flight out of Peru.
Van Dam does not know whether the other two Wageningen Students in Cuzco made it back to the Netherlands. The return trip shows that the European embassies are collaborating intensively to get Europeans home from Peru.