Key West Family Finally Reunited After Traveling Nightmare
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A Key West family is celebrating after finally being reunited. The reunion took place at Miami International Airport after being apart nearly four months.
What was supposed to be a two-week summer vacation in Central Asia turned into a nightmare for the Petro family. The mother and son were stuck after the government there refused to let them leave.
Aziza Petro, her four-year-old son, Michael, and 11-year-old daughter, Mercedes, traveled to her native Turkmenistan back in June.
She wanted to show her kids where she grew up and visit her mother's grave. But when it was time to leave and come back to the states, she and her kids were stuck.
"My wife is a U.S. citizen but they don't recognize her U.S. citizenship so after she entered the country, they told her she wasn't going to be allowed to leave," said Aziza's husband, Michael Petro.
Michael Petro contacted the State Department, U.S. Embassy and the Turkmenistan Embassy to try to get his wife and kids back home.
He even created a Facebook page titled "Bring My Family Home" and called out national and local officials demanding answers. But the more time passed, the bleaker things looked for Aziza and her children.
"It was very, very scary because more and more every day, I started realizing that there's no law. There's nothing I can do," said Aziza.
Two weeks ago, the couple's daughter was allowed to fly back home. But Aziza and little Michael still could not leave. Finally on Thursday a breakthrough came.
Aziza got a call from the Turkmenistan government telling her she was getting an exit Visa, but not before jumping through more hoops.
Even after boarding the plane in Turkmenistan to come back home, she was still skeptical.
"It was scary. It was still scary because I've heard of stories that people were taken off the plane," said Aziza.
All of her fears erased, after finally seeing her husband.
"To have our family torn apart like this has been really, really tough. But now the joy of being back together is overwhelming," said Michael Petro.
When asked if she would return to Turkmenistan, Aziza said "no."
