'Get us out': Canadians still stranded abroad wait to hear if Ottawa will help them

"Bring us home." That's Shirley Mancino's message to Justin Trudeau after the prime minister pleaded earlier this week for Canadians abroad to return to Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mancino, 74, and husband, Michael Clement, 75, left their home in Westport, Ont., in January to spend the winter in Cuenca, Ecuador. They were set to fly home on April 8, but their plan was dashed when Ecuador closed its borders on March 16 to help stop the spread of COVID-19. 

"The president of Ecuador just slammed the door completely," said Clement from the couple's rented apartment in Cuenca. "Meanwhile, Trudeau is telling us, 'Why don't you come home?'"

The couple joins many frustrated Canadians who were instructed to return to Canada, but can't. That's because they're trapped in countries that have shut their borders and/or grounded international flights in an attempt to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases. 

CBC News has heard from dozens of Canadian travellers who said they're stranded in Ecuador, Panama, Morocco, Italy, Peru, Russia, Algeria and the Philippines, or stuck on a cruise ship that can't find a place to dock.

Mancino has sent emails to the Foreign Affairs Department and her local member of Parliament, detailing their situation, but so far, has received no offer of assistance. Meanwhile, the couple remains largely confined to their apartment as many businesses in Cuenca have closed and Ecuador has instructed people to stay home. 

"The police and military presence are everywhere," said Mancino. She also said that the couple's food buying options in their area are shrinking. "We don't know what the future is going to bring. We don't know how the food situation is going. You know, there's all kinds of things that could go wrong."

There may be help

On Friday, Trudeau offered a glimmer of hope, stating that his government is talking to major airlines about bringing home stranded Canadians. Already, the government arranged with Air Canada a commercial flight that arrived in Morocco on Saturday to fly travellers home to Montreal. 

However, that flight booked up quickly, so many of the thousands of stranded Canadians in Morocco were unable to get a seat, including Paul Latendresse from Quebec City. 

"It's a tough, tough situation," said Latendresse, who came to the Casablanca airport on Saturday morning with his wife in hopes of snagging a standby ticket. "It's very hectic, it's very difficult, everybody wants out."

He and about 100 other hopeful Canadians who showed up at the airport were unsuccessful in getting a seat on the plane.

"One plane is insufficient," said a frustrated Latendresse. "My message to the government is get us out. Get those planes."

Trudeau conceded on Saturday that the government won't be able to help everyone.

"It is an extremely difficult situation, but the lockdowns in various countries, the limits on travel, the logistical capacities of our airlines means that we are unlikely to be able to bring everyone home," he said during a news conference.

Stranded in Honduras

Canadians abroad still hoping for help include Jacqueline de Leeuw of Spruce Grove, Alta., who is stranded with her 82-year-old parents on the island of Roatán in Honduras.

The three travellers were set to fly home on Sunday, but are now stuck because Honduras has also shut its borders. 

De Leeuw, 53, has contacted the Canadian government about their situation. She said her biggest concern is the health of her parents, whose medical insurance expires on April 1. 

"It's very unsettling," said de Leeuw, who hopes for some direction from the federal government. 

"Give us some information," she said. "Is there a schedule? Is there a planned anything? Maybe you could reach out and say, 'You know, we understand you're there, and we'll let you know as soon as we know.'"

Stranded at sea

Chris Joiner has also let the government know about his whereabouts — at sea, off the coast of Chile. He and his wife were in the middle of a South American cruise with Holland America Line when on, March 13, the company decided to suspend cruise operations for 30 days during the COVID-19 crisis. 

However, the cruise line has yet to find a country willing to allow the ship to dock, even though the company has said there are no known cases of COVID-19 among the 1,384 people on board. 

Joiner, 59, said there are 245 Canadians stuck on the ship and that many of them are elderly. 

"I'm concerned for the state of people on board here, you know, to be able to cope with the next — maybe as long as two or three weeks."

Joiner said he'd like help getting home, but also understands that the government is busy, fighting the COVID-19 war on many fronts.

In the meantime, he said he's trying to remain positive and think of his "mystery" cruise as an adventure. 

"The weather's nice, so that helps," said Joiner, who lives in Orléans, Ont. "But after a while, people are gonna start thinking, 'Is this ever going to end? Are we going to see our families again?'"