The Indian Weekender, 11 June 2021

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8 NEW ZEALAND Friday, June 11, 2021 The Indian Weekender 'Disbelief, shock, and relief': A Kiwi journey back home amidst flight ba PAULA RAY Never before a resident in this country had left the shores with an iota of doubt in their minds that their entry back into the country could be jeopardised except if you were caught-up in India during the deadly second wave of Covid pandemic in late March-April that led New Zealand government announce historic flight ban from India. After the initial decision of banning all flights from India and restricting citizens and residents right to return to the country, the government continued the ban on the flights but allowed citizens to return directly, if they could find travel-routes, while imposing a requirement on residents to live in a third country for 14 days before producing a no-Covid certificate. Shruthi Nair was one such resident who first travelled to India in distress in mid-March to meet her ailing mother and then embark on an uncertain journey to a third country before eventually landing back home in late May. The Indian Weekender spoke with Shruthi Nair to capture her experience and emotional upheaval during this long uncertain journey. IWK: Why did you travel to India at the first place during the middle of a global pandemic? Shruthi: I travelled for personal reasons - to visit my terminally ill mother, as soon as the doctors informed us that her life expectancy was a matter of days. Planning the trip was very stressful, especially booking an MIQ spot and matching flight dates to the same. I was satisfied with my planning, but had a lot of uncertainties on the whole travel situation due to COVID. All I knew at the time was my desperate need to visit my sick mother and I wasn’t thinking of what would happen after. Never imagined that things would get this bad. Soon after reaching India, I contracted COVID-19 and had to deal with the physical and mental stress of recovering, so I could produce a negative report and travel back to NZ. IWK: What did you do when the NZ government banned flights from India? Shruthi: I was shocked and went into serious panic mode. I was not anticipating it at all. At the most, I was expecting reduced flight schedules, but not an entire travel ban. Instantly, I looked for a new MIQ date after the travel ban would be lifted and rescheduled my flight. But, eventually, this process had to be repeated several times due to the constant extension of the ban. Not to mention the fact that I kept paying for every time I changed the flight tickets. The travel plan also depended on Dubai’s ban of flights from India, as it was the main junction through which the Emirates flights would reach Auckland. A PR-holder could only fly Emirates, as no visa was required to transit Dubai. NZ citizens had the option of flying Qatar Airways which had a stopover in Brisbane. IWK: How did you plan your way back to NZ? Soon after reaching India, I contracted COVID-19 and had to deal with the physical and mental stress of recovering, so I could produce a negative report and travel back to NZ. Shruthi: After NZ partially lifted the ban, the new condition was that all residents had to stay a minimum of 14 days in a nonhigh-risk country, before flying into NZ. So I started my intense research into every country on the globe that I could visit for the 14 days prior to entering NZ. I had a valid visitor visa to the US and so that came up as an option for a ‘safe country’ to travel through. I almost finalised tickets to the US, but the next day the US announced their travel ban. This set me back on my planning. Ultimately, I looked into Maldives as the closest country allowing Indian citizens to enter their private islands without any visa requirement. This seemed to be my only option for a ‘safe country’. I had to also keep in mind that I was travelling by myself and so my personal safety was of utmost importance. My family back in India as well as in NZ were very concerned about my safety. Smart money choices made simple. We’ll help you find the sweetest mortgage deal whether it’s your first home or investment property, and arrange the best insurance to suit your needs. Mortgage services Home loans Construction loans Refinances and restructures Top ups & debt consolidation Commercial & Business loans Insurance Life, Trauma Medical/Health General Business Income Protection Call us today 0800 21 22 23 86 Highbrook Drive, Level East 1, Tamaki, 3/53 Cavendish Auckland Drive 2103 Manukau
The Indian Weekender Friday, June 11, 2021 NEW ZEALAND 9 -Indian resident’s n from India The Maldives plan worked out at the last moment. It literally happened in 24 hours, with me flying out the next day. This was an extremely difficult decision for me to leave my ailing mum in the state she was in. I set on my journey, with no guarantee of returning to NZ.. IWK: Tell us more about this plan, how did it go? Shruthi: I stayed in a luxury resort on a private island for 15 days. It was a very expensive stay but had no other alternatives. There were no supermarkets or convenience stores on the island. Food had to be bought from the resort restaurants only, where a sandwich would cost USD 30. There were no other options to stay because Indian tourists were not allowed on the main island, where there would be other options for affordable food. So I had to stay on this expensive private island. What added to my misery was the loss of my mother while I was isolated on that island. I had no friends or family to turn to, except for the video calls. As if this wasn’t enough, at the end of my 15 days stay; I was traumatised by the Maldives immigration. They wanted me to return to India, and refused me to board the flight to Dubai, as they were not convinced of my reason to return to NZ. They appeared to be not clear on the 14 day rule set by the NZ government, and I was interrogated by a senior immigration official. He was not convinced of my genuine motives to go back to NZ and the purpose of my solo trip of going to India and then heading to Maldives. After an hour-long drilling session, where I was made to wait endlessly and then interrogated repeatedly, I was finally allowed to board the plane just in time before it took off. IWK: How was the MIQ experience? Shruthi: The MIQ was quite well-managed, though the quality of food could have been better. One thing that really was inconvenient was the fact that I couldn’t heat the food as the rooms were not equipped with a microwave. This was perhaps the only downside. The safety precautions were quite stringent, as it should be. This was reassuring and kind of made up for all that I had gone through until then. I did feel I was back in a safe country. The day I left the MIQ, It felt like I was released from prison because I was mainly stuck in a room for 14 days with a daily dose of 30 minutes of fresh air in a controlled setup. Once I was out of the facility, the first thing I did was go to Cornwall Park for a long walk and to breathe in the fresh cold air. It was such a sigh of relief. One million more Pfizer doses to arrive in July Pfizer has scheduled delivery of an estimated 1 million doses of vaccine to New Zealand during July, COVID1-9 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “These consignments will double the total number of Pfizer doses we have received this year to more than 1,900,000 – enough to fully vaccinate almost 1 million Kiwis,” Chris Hipkins said. “This is great news and reassuring to see our vaccine supply ramping up. It shows our plan for what is the biggest and most complex logistical undertaking ever by the health system is on track. “The doses will arrive in weekly drops, ramping up in quantity from mid July as we start to move to the wider population roll out. “The drops will enable us to continue vaccinating Groups 1,2, and 3, while giving us the certainty needed to start the general population rollout as planned. “The supplies means DHBs can keep delivering to their plans and start accelerating their way through Group 3 from mid July – which is everyone over the age of 65 and people with disabilities and some underlying health conditions. It’s a group of more than 1 million people and will take time to work through. As we start Group 4, we will significantly ramp up our vaccination efforts.” Chris Hipkins said around 20,000 doses a day were currently being administered and the Pfizer deliveries throughout July will enable this to increase significantly. At the peak of the programme in August and September we expect to be administering 50,000 doses per day. The most visited Indian news website in New Zealand For online advertising options, email at sales@indianweekender.co.nz S ponS orS P r e s e n t s Lala Patel & ASSOCIATES Business Buddy JAYESH BATERIWALA PRoDUctIon & Associates C H A R T E R E D A C C O U N T A N T S RVS S upportE r S Starring: Creativehome.co.nz | PRASAD 027 229 6861 JAYESH BATERIWALA WrittEn & DirEctED BY JAYESH BATERIWALA RUZBEH PALSETIA RUPAL SOLANKI MEDia partnE r S 12th June Saturday 7pm Venue: Playhouse Theatre tickE t S $20 contact 021 150 4149 , JHEEL PANDIT JINAY SHAH MuSic: RITESH VAGHELA catE ring partnE r S O
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The Indian Weekender, 11 June 2021

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