A Cobb County man who spent a month on a South Pacific island after its borders were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic will finally be allowed to return to American soil.
Marietta resident Salesi Tongamoa, who spent a month in the Polynesian country of Tonga, is expected to arrive at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport later this week, he confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tonga consists of more than 170 islands about 500 miles east of Fiji and 1,480 miles north of New Zealand. From Tonga, Tongamoa will catch a connecting flight to New Zealand. He will fly from that country to Los Angeles where he will catch a flight to Atlanta. The flight is expected to land around 8 a.m. Thursday, wife Emily Tongamoa said.
“I’m happy to get home now,” said Tongamoa, who works for a junk removal company and helps manage a bar. “I’m happy I’ll get to see my kids.”
Tongamoa, who was born in American Samoa and grew up in Tonga, is a former member of the Atlanta Renegades and Rhinos rugby teams and the USA Tomahawks national rugby team.
MORE | AJC's complete coronavirus coverage
He flew to the country in early March to bury his father, who died after a battle with cancer. Tongamoa said the trip allowed him to spend time with his mother, brother and sisters before he was scheduled to depart March 28.
However, the pandemic’s march across the globe propelled him to move his flight up to March 21. Flights to and from Tonga go through Fiji. Tongamoa said he was initially told he would have no problem leaving, but when he arrived at the Fiji airport, he was informed that travel restrictions prohibited anyone from entering or leaving the island.
Tongamoa’s wife, Emily, a Cobb County elementary school teacher, said the ordeal was frustrating. Making matters worse was tropical cyclone Harold, which on April 9 dumped heavy downpours on Tonga and left many without power.
Every time she took a phone call from her husband, Emily Tongamoa said her children, who are ages 10, 6 and 1 1/2, asked when their father would be coming home. “They were ready for him to come home,” she said. “Luckily we could video chat.”
READ | Cop virtually reads to kids from patrol car during coronavirus school closures
The Tongamoas reached out to the U.S. Embassy in Fiji for help, but said they were not given much information on what it was doing to help Americans on the island. Tongamoa told the AJC he had to scrape together $2,600 to purchase his plane ticket. The Marietta resident said he was fortunate he was able to live with his mother during his time on the island since others had to pay money for hotels when they were delayed in leaving the island.
“It’s hard to be stranded over there because there’s not a lot of income [opportunity],” Emily Tongamoa said.
Tongamoa said he hopes his experience will encourage the U.S. Embassy to improve communication with citizens desperate to get home before it’s too late.
“I’m just glad I’m coming home,” he said. “I can’t wait to hold my kids again.”
Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow on Twitter
About the Author
