It has been 18 months since Australia closed its international borders.
Closing was the country’s main defense against the spread of Covid-19.
“I’m not going to risk the lives of Australians” was the mantra of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for over a year.
And it worked to a great extent. Despite the current outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne, just over 1,100 people have died from the virus since the pandemic began. Only about 30 countries worldwide have minor per capita deaths.
But as the world opens up, there is no certainty when Australia will do the same. Although he has given up chasing Covid zero, most Australians find themselves locked up or locked up. And right now there are also about 10 million.
A national plan gives hope for international travel when 80% of those eligible are fully vaccinated. Domestic quarantine is also being tested as an alternative to hotel quarantine.
But double vaccination rates are currently 40%. Now it’s just starting a teen release. And Western Australia, which has kept Covid-19 cases down to almost zero, has hinted that it can keep travel restrictions much longer.
We have been listening to hundreds of tales of separation, despair, and tragedy. Here are a few.
The lost funeral
Australian citizens and permanent residents need an exemption to leave the country if they intend to return. Normally, they have to agree that they will be out for at least three months.
Tens of thousands of exemptions have been granted, including many for compassionate reasons. But tens of thousands more have been rejected.
Kristina Sahleström lives in Sydney. His mother Ylva died suddenly in Sweden in late July.
Kristina says she was twice denied permission to return and therefore lost the funeral. He had to watch the incineration online.
“My family told me it was very quiet, but when you see it on a small phone, that translation of peace doesn’t come,” he says.
“I wanted to be there for selfish reasons, for my own good, processing my pain and dealing with the shock that happened so quickly. And I feel very guilty for leaving my brother alone.
“But it was also the respect of being there as a daughter. I think a level of respect should have been given.
“They were unnecessarily tough when compassion should have been shown. It’s a general rule that doesn’t allow for differences in situations.”
Separate partners
Mikey Votano is a musician and animator from Sydney. His partner Kathryn Relf is in the UK.
“We both work on cruise ships and have been together for five years. We spent our pre-lived life between Australia and Britain, but Kathryn and I broke up at the beginning of the pandemic and haven’t been able to see each other since.” he says.
“We have asked him to join me here in Australia, but all applications have been denied. We have paid a ridiculous amount for lawyers to try to get a visa for Kathryn to come to Australia, but we are still waiting to hear.”
“I’ve had offers to work in Europe, but until recently I couldn’t get vaccinated. I just took my first dose of Pfizer last week.
“There is a job reserved in Europe for June 2022, which will be my first contract in two and a half years. But with border closures and flight costs I have no guarantee that I will be able to leave.
“Blockades in Australia have devastated the entertainment industry. Many artists, myself included, have been denied healthcare support.”
The Australian ran aground
Rachael Marciniak, 44, lives in the UK.
As there are an estimated 30,000 Australians abroad, he wants to get home. But tight limits on quarantine hotels mean only a few hundred a week achieve that desire.
A quarantine site costs $ 3000 A (£ 1,600; $ 2,200). Flights to Australia can cost many times this amount and are canceled regularly.
Anyone who has only a temporary return must receive an exemption to leave Australia again.
“My mother in Melbourne has been diagnosed with lung cancer. She is receiving palliative care and I need to see her again as soon as I can,” she says.
“It’s been an insane roller coaster trying to get home. I just missed the September repatriation flights the Australian government makes with Qantas. I’m on the waiting list for last-minute cancellations.
“I have lived in London since 2006, I have built a life here and I have a young family. The last time I saw my mother was in December 2017 when I introduced her to my first daughter. She has not met my second son in person, but Heartbreak is an understatement.
“Even if I get to Australia, I will have to ask for an exemption to return to my life and my family in the UK. How can I leave my children here when I am not sure I can return?
“How can high profile people enter Australia so easily as we sit here to capture any hope as an Australian citizen?
The new struggling parents
In addition to mourning, one of the most common struggles we have experienced comes from new parents.
Mahtab Moalemi gave birth to twins prematurely through a planned cesarean section.
He has faced a “huge struggle” since then and longs for his mother, who lives in the Iranian capital Tehran.
“I desperately want my own mother to be here to support and help me. She is fully vaccinated and I have asked three times that she be allowed to enter Australia out of compassion, but each of them has been rejected. .
“The impact has been huge. I have not been able to properly care for my newborn twins. And my journey with breastfeeding has ended soon, after having an anxiety attack after one of the denial of exemption. .
“I have returned to part – time work and continue to struggle with work, life, household chores and caring for two babies. I have fallen into the deepest depression.
“My husband and I have a few friends in Perth, but I don’t have much help. I can’t go back to Iran because my husband is Australian. We are seriously thinking about moving to another country.”
The expat sold
Some have decided that enough is enough.
Marissa Parkin, an American citizen, and her husband, Ian, a Briton, have just sold their Sydney home and are leaving Australia. They will spend time in the United States before starting a new life in Nottingham, England, with their daughter Zadie.
“We’re so, so sad. We’ve made a living here, we both have great jobs, we have a beautiful home and our daughter was born here. We really never thought we’d leave … I haven’t seen our families in 18 months .
“At first I really got it. I understood that stopping people’s movement was what was going to happen. But it’s dragging on, with no way out.
“Ultimately, it’s just about the family. Our daughter needs to get to know her grandparents. She thinks they live on a computer.
“We don’t miss at all the incredible luck we have in having options and being mobile. We’re grateful to have the option and we’ll take it, but it’s not without a heavy heart.”