ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous story.
After days of being stuck in Peru, more than a dozen Georgia college students are back in the U.S.
The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the 15 students arrived at the Miami International Airport Wednesday night.
Last week, 11Alive's Elwyn Lopez talked to the group and learned there were 20 college students - from different schools in the U.S. - trapped in Peru after it ordered its borders to close for 15 days in an attempt slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
They said they were given a 24-hour notice before the 15-day mandatory quarantine, which put a halt to international flights.
The students from University of South Alabama, UGA, Lenoir Rhyne and Augusta University said their colleges were everything they can to get home. CAIR said after eight days of appeals to the U.S. government and others, the students were finally able to return.
“CAIR-Georgia is grateful to Representative Engel, Representative Woodall, and the State Department for their efforts to reunite these students with their families and loved ones. It took a village to get them home, and we thank the entire community for its support," said CAIR-Georgia Legal and Policy Director Murtaza Khwaja.
“In the midst of the largest global pandemic of our times, these acts of coordination amongst our local, state, and national communities, as well as with the larger international community, will hopefully light the way for us to emerge stronger than when we entered this crisis," Khwaja added.
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