Exodus from Tunis

The company watched the political events and decided that we all needed to evacuate on Sunday. They organized rental car convoys and set up three waves to take all the people and luggage to the airport. We did it in waves so that everyone had a native Arabic speaker in case they were stopped in a checkpoint.

I'd like to say that it went off without a hitch. There were hitches, but they actually were not problems. We realized after the first wave left that we didn't need a third wave. We could fit all the luggage and people into the cars scheduled for the second wave. Only hangup? One of the guys was riding along with the first wave to translate, if stopped. He had planned to pick up his luggage and check out of his room when he came back.

But we didn't need him to come back for us. We could make the second run and all get there. So two of the guys went into the hotel to bully them into letting us into his room to fetch his luggage and check him out. Then we loaded, and launched for the airport.

On the way, we saw several burned out buildings. Most of them were large villas that could be identified as belonging to the ruling family's members. The commercial buildings that were damaged also appeared to be projects that were developed by the president's wife's family members, who run a large construction business. One of the biggest malls, Tunis City, was burned in the violence.

We didn't get stopped on the way to the airport. Although we drove through several checkpoints, they looked in the car and waved us on. The only time we were stopped was by the national guard members who controlled access to the airport. All they wanted to do was look at the luggage and make sure there wasn't anything in the vehicle that was dangerous. We managed to get there, get the luggage and people into the terminal in record time. We felt like we had pulled off a logistical coup!

When we got to the airport, we found it filled with people who were all trying to leave Tunis.
The overhead departure boards showed all the morning flights as delayed. In the Tunis airport there is no seating in the ticketing/check in area. It's just a big room with 50 or so desks. The board lists the numbered desk for your flight's check in and you go queue up to check in. So this room, with no seating, was filled to the brim with humanity. Many worried foreigners were sharing information about what they'd seen or experienced. Throughout the day, I realized that no one was losing their temper. There was no yelling, cussing or carrying on. When the kids got rambunctious and ran around, everyone looked on with smiles instead of anger. For a huge mob scene, this was decidedly well mannered.We all knew we were in for a long day. But I don't think any of us actually thought we'd be standing the whole time. After a while, one of the gals started what she called a 'scavenger hunt' through the airport. She snagged any chair she could find. Busted down office chairs that had been abandoned by airport personnel. Cafe chairs from the restaurant. Stools from the bar. Wherever she found one with no butt in it, she dragged it back to our circled luggage carts. We stood (and sat) for almost 14 hours. We were booked on five different flights. Some of us were going to London. Some were going to Paris via Madrid. Some were going to Paris via Geneva. A final contingent were returning to Algeria.

The whole group hung out and when the first wave of passengers were called and went through security back to the gate area, we were thrilled. The London flight was going to launch. Now, we were just waiting on Madrid, Geneva and Algeria to post on the board. The flights were all delayed for hours. The concern that we'd stay in the airport so long that we'd be unable to go back to a hotel--because of the enforced curfew--made many of us very nervous. It was agreed that at a certain time of day, we'd have to make a decision that could require us to sleep at the airport because of the time restraint.

Just moments before that time... one of the gals went up to the desk where the London flight was checked in. The gate agents were still there hours after our friends had left for security. She has mad French language skills, so she cadged a chocolate bar and offered it to the workers and then asked about some of the flights. It turned out that the London flight had not yet left, wasn't closed and had open seats. She tugged us all up to the desk and we were all booked onto the London flight.

We rushed through security and back to the gate area. Then we sat there for another hour or so... but SEATS were in the gate area. After a day on our feet, even those steel seats seemed like luxury. And eventually a plane showed up and we were allowed on board.

We arrived at London's Heathrow airport at 10:00 pm on Monday night. According to the customs officials who checked our passports, we were the first flight of people leaving Tunisia that they'd seen. I told them to expect a lot more based on the number of people populating the Tunis airport.

So, our first step on the Exodus from Tunis was completed. We got out of the country safely and together. Only one injury, one of the managers sprained/broke his ankle right as he got to the airport and was unloading his family's baggage. He was a trooper and self medicated--see the beer? He wanted to wait to get medical treatment in the UK. With his ankle swelling at an alarming rate, he got nagged to keep it elevated all day long. Last time I saw him, he was on crutches. By this time, he's landed in Canada and has his family safe at home.

The rest of the group continued on to Paris via the Eurostar train through the Chunnel. They'll work out of the Paris offices for the next week and will reassess the situation in Tunisia soon. If things get better, I'm sure we'll go back.

--Sandee Wagner