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American Samoa residents stranded in Utah see hope

Deidra Harrington-Latu
Source: Fox News 13

Salt Lake City, UTAH — The Fox News affiliate in Salt Lake City is reporting that the dozens of families from American Samoa who have been stranded in Utah since the COVID-19 pandemic began are a step closer to returning home.

 “I just want to go home,” said Deidra Harrington-Latu. She traveled to Utah in August of 2019.

Her husband and three children were set to join her in Utah in March. Then the pandemic changed everything.

“I have three children in Samoa, and they closed the borders,” Harrington-Latu said. “That was devastating.”

More than 100 residents of American Samoa are stranded in Utah. Roughly 600 are stranded in various states around the country.

“It’s been very hard, especially on my children from being separated from their father for so long,” Lorena Seu told Fox News.

This week, American Samoa’s health department opened an application for residents to begin the process to return.

Travel to American Samoa is paused until February 1, 2021. After that, the possibility exists for residents to return.

The application process is a reason to be optimistic, but with hundreds of people needing to travel and quarantine, it could be some time before everyone returns home.

As they wait, those who are stranded have formed a special bond. They support each other, making the best of what has been a grueling and cruel situation.

“Because of our culture, we are Samoan,” said Aioevaga Tuna. “We are related. Blood doesn’t tell us that.”

Read more at Fox 13 Now