Australian families with relatives in India are pleading for the federal government's help to bring family members to Australia, before they watch more die.
Key points:
- Australians say they are worried their family members in India will die before they get a chance to see them again
- Some are calling for the Australian government to give show leniency with its border rules
- Under the current rules, only citizens and permanent residents are allowed to travel to Australia
Many say anxiety is building in the community with no firm date in sight as to when borders might open.
Under current border rules, non-citizens and permanent residents are not allowed to travel to Australia from any country (except New Zealand) without special permission.
Similarly, permission must be sought for Australians to travel to India to be with family — and the government has made clear given the current COVID-19 situation, no permits are being granted.
Family members say they feel helpless — unable to come to the aid of loved ones abroad, let alone bring them to safety in Australia.
'The worst month of my life'
Over two days in late April, Sanjay Khanna lost his brother and mother to COVID-19.
All he could do was desperately phone ambulances and hospitals in Delhi from his home in Sydney, trying to secure them the help they needed.
Mr Khanna's brother, Sunil, is one of three Australian citizen or permanent residents to die in India from COVID-19 in recent weeks.
"This pandemic hit us hard, the month of April, the worst month of my life," he said.
"I lost my brother and my mother within a span of 24 hours.
Now, he is pleading with the federal government to let him bring his 83-year-old father to Australia.
His father also contracted COVID-19 but has since tested negative, and is now alone.
"He's recovering slowly, a very frail, 83-year-old man all by himself," he said.
"So I want some compassion to be shown, and he being allowed to be repatriated back to Australia, through a government-assisted program.
"I'm more than happy to comply with all the regulations and all the protocols which are there to keep Australia safe."
Mr Khanna's brother Sunil had spent years in India caring for his parents, and was planning on bringing them to Australia.
Now, Mr Khanna said he was left doing what he could for his elderly father from half the world away.
"He's feeling lonely, he's feeling teary," he said.
"He talks to me three, four times a day, he talks to his granddaughter who's there with me a couple of times a day," he said.
"That's really trying to keep his spirits high, because that's the only thing I can do to give him hope, and calm his anxiousness and anxiety."
Calls for leniency on border rules
Leaders in the Australian-Indian community say there is a simmering sense of frustration at the plight of relatives abroad, and the lack of government flexibility.
Until recently, India was the subject of a controversial travel ban, with entry to Australia made illegal for anyone who had been in the country in the previous 14 days.
Repatriation flights have now resumed, one landing in Darwin last weekend and five more expected before the end of the month.
But many fear for close family members who are not citizens or permanent residents.
Supplied: Facebook
)The Canberra-India Council's Deepak-Raj Gupta said many just wanted certainty on when, and how, loved ones could travel in either direction.
"The frustration is really growing because they don't know, they're not getting clear guidelines about when international travel will open," he said.
"Is there any special category that can get people in here, especially the elderly ones?
"And in some cases, they have young children living with their grandparents."
Mr Gupta, who until last year was a Labor member of the ACT Legislative Assembly, fears some do not fully appreciate the cultural significance of some Indian family relationships.
He said there was a clear expectation in particular that children would care for their parents, and many felt trapped and unable to help.
"This situation is quite grim," he said.
"People are frustrated, and they think they've been let down."
He said there was a widespread fear that if circumstances did not change, more would watch lives be lost.
"They think they're not getting any help, and if international travel will not reopen by next year, they probably won't have the chance to see their loved one in this lifetime."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA1LTIwL2F1c3RyYWxpYW4taW5kaWFuLWZhbWlsaWVzLXBsZWFkLWhlbHAtY292aWQtb3V0YnJlYWsvMTAwMTUzNTU00gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMDE1MzU1NA?oc=5
2021-05-20 06:04:23Z
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