The Sydney opera house has reopened. Nearly 40,000 spectators attended Sydney’s rugby league grand final. India and Australia are playing cricket in front of filled stands. Australian workers are being urged to return to their offices.
Australia is considered a real pandemic success story.
However, at least 36,875 Australians wouldn’t agree with that assessment.
*****
In February, Kate and David Jeffries travelled with
their infant son from Perth to Canada to care for David’s elderly mother. She
was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Today, ten months later, the Jeffries are
still stranded in Canada.
Desalyn Bowyer, 40, moved from Sydney to Hong Kong last
December for work. Her office allowed her to return to Sydney every two weeks
to spend time with her kids. She has not met her children since February. In
July, her father died. She couldn’t attend the funeral.
Yuvraj Krishna, a four-year-old boy with autism is stranded
with his mother in India. His mother had air tickets to return to Sydney in
April. She checks the booking sites three times a day. Yuvraj’s case is concerning.
He has missed his therapy sessions since March, and has lost his faculty to
speak. A therapist attributed that to his closeness to his father. His father,
Rahul, alone in Sydney, is now on medication for depression and high blood
pressure.
Australians are stranded in Canada, USA, Europe and
India. They are the displaced people of the developed world.
*****
The Australian economy depends a lot on China. That
could be one reason why Australia took the coronavirus very seriously right
from the start. Their closing of the borders was draconian. Since 20 March,
residents need a permit to leave or enter the country.
Arrivals are capped. Anyone flying in to Australia has
been subjected to a 14-day quarantine at their own expense in specified hotels.
The arrivals are therefore limited by the capacity of quarantine hotels. The
weekly cap has slowly gone up to 8000 now. In January, 2.3 million people flew
into Australia. In September, only 16,720.
Mr Den Heten, one of the stranded Australians started
a website removethecap.com. It visually conveys the trauma and delays
experienced by Australians trying to return home. The website already has
stories of 2831 families from 170 countries.
*****
Several flights were cancelled. Those that operated
offered only first class or business class tickets. An America or Europe ticket
to Australia would cost $15000. Some airlines played the game of selling
tickets for flights that were cancelled, and then taking months to process the
refunds. To add to it, every person arriving must pay $3000 for quarantine. Desperate
Australians offered to wear electronic ankles at home instead. That suggestion
was rejected.
Since July, stranded Australians should register
themselves at DFAT (department of foreign affairs and trade). Unless notified,
they can’t leave for Australia. The number of stranded is of those who have registered.
Every month the number grows because more people register. In India alone,
10000 are reportedly stranded.
*****
The right to enter your own country is considered a
human right. In 1980, Australia signed the International Covenant guaranteeing
such a right. Separation of children from parents is considered another breach
of human rights.
Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has promised
to get back all stranded Australians by Christmas. That is now unrealistic.
Many Australian homes will have empty chairs at Christmas gatherings. The
problem is now compounded. Those stuck in North America or Europe are unable to
leave their houses because of the new lockdowns. They are unable to make it to
the international airport.
*****
If Australia is a pandemic success, it has come at a
high price. It is the only place in the developed world whose citizens are
displaced as a result of the actions by their own government.
Ravi
Something else I didnt know was happening
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