Three travelers from a Spanish group of eighteen found themselves caught in armed clashes in northern Ethiopia, and their arrival in Valencia was marked by fear and uncertainty. They described stepping into a hotel to shelter themselves with only fragmentary information available and feeling abandoned, including a sense that the Spanish embassy had not provided the support they expected during their eleven days in limbo. The family involved, Mauro Fernández, Tina Peris, and their 13-year-old daughter Patricia, were welcomed at Valencia airport by Tina’s sister and niece, marking a tense return to Spain after a frightening ordeal that began for some members when they first landed in the country in 1999. The rest of the group were expected to fly into Madrid and Barcelona later that day.
Officials described the experience as wrenching and exhausting, especially for the younger members of the party. The most intense fear centered on the safety of the younger traveler, who conducted himself with a calm maturity that surprised friends and relatives. He faced the situation with a blend of resilience and quiet resolve, even as the family confronted the emotional toll of the journey. Mauro later explained that the family had endured an emotional roller coaster before returning to Spain.
Mauro asserted that contact should have come through the Spanish embassy, saying that no direct outreach occurred from the ambassador during the eleven days they spent at the hotel. Communication was limited to the Barcelona consulate, which the family said tried to assist. This experience led them to the conclusion that they would need to organize their own way back to Spain, choosing to coordinate with a local travel agency to manage their departure arrangements.
According to the Consulate, the family informed officials the previous Thursday that they hoped to leave via a highway convoy, but they ultimately took another path and traveled by air after arranging their own evacuation. The group was forced to shelter in a hotel when the vehicle they were traveling in halted in response to escalating danger. The driver of the bus they rode on withdrew from the route after a warning about continuing violence, and gunfire began nearby near a gas station.
Huddled on the bus floor as shots rang out, the travelers found themselves in a crisis that pushed them into a comparatively bare hotel. The facility provided basic accommodations, including food that was limited to carbohydrate-dominated meals and access to water that was not consistent. The occupants shared the space with three chickens, a rooster, and a goat, making the stay feel like a precarious and improvised shelter rather than a formal refuge. Yet, despite the harsh conditions, the family expressed gratitude for the care they did receive in a setting that offered a degree of safety amid chaos.
Throughout the ordeal, the family maintained that the disturbances outside did not reflect their own intentions or hopes for their futures. Their concern focused on the length of time they would need to remain in place since early August and the impact the events would have on their lives back home.
Mauro recalled that the embassy had been advised against traveling to the area, though he noted that the warning appeared only after the first day of the disruption. The situation, he explained, had become clear only on August 3, when the danger in northern Ethiopia had intensified. Despite this, the family worked to stay informed and to protect their loved ones, grateful for the support they could muster from afar.
As they prepared to return, the family expressed thanks to their relatives for keeping them informed about the broader situation concerning the group. They also offered appreciation to the media for the attention given to their story and for helping to share their experiences with others who might be affected by similar events in the region. They extended apologies for the anxiety their situation may have caused to their families and friends, emphasizing a desire to move forward and resume their lives in safety and peace. (Source: Spanish media coverage and official statements reported after the event.)