Anguished expatriates rue loss of another vacation

Many of them are frustrated at being cut off from their loved ones back home for nearly two years

Reshmi Rajesh chokes up with emotion every time she talks about her octogenarian father who had a miraculous return to life from what looked like a point of no return a few years ago.

He suffered a stroke and was on ventilator support before making a courageous comeback, albeit much weakened. Sitting in her apartment in Abu Dhabhi, where she has been working for close to two decades, a desolate Ms. Rajesh rues not having seen her frail father and mother back in Aluva for two years now.

“He hardly comes online, as he is not comfortable with it. Though my siblings are nearby, even they are staying away for fear of infecting our aged parents. He does not have anyone to talk to him, and that thought kills me,” she said.

With more countries imposing travel ban on India, Malayali expatriates are staring at yet another missed trip back home. The annual vacation is the most anticipated event for most of them, and the frustration of missing it for two back-to-back years is taking its toll.

Sanjay K.V., who works in Muscat, says life has been nightmarish for his wife and children who have rarely stepped out of their apartment in the last more than a year. “For our aged parents, not being able to see their grandchildren is too painful. Children are the ones suffering the worst in this locked-up life here, as they have to video-call even their friends next door, whereas back home they could have at least taken a stroll around the house,” he lamented.

Athira Sandeep, who lives in Bahrain, hopes the travel ban will be lifted by July when her family has a medical appointment scheduled in Kochi.

Takkine Francis, a resident of Kochi and now living in Muscat, remains quarantined after he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Making matters worse, his wife and children too have developed symptoms, leaving them longing for home even more. “It was risky to fly back home even before the travel ban, for there was always the possibility of getting stranded there endangering my job. Besides, I would have had to pay rent and other utility fees even if I got shut out of Muscat for months,” he said amid bouts of cough.

Pradeesh R. Nair, an expatriate in Muscat, rings his aged mother back home every single day, as she is only about getting used to video calls. “She had to be taken to hospital out of anxiety during the first wave of the pandemic last year, and I could not make it there, as the lockdown was in place. The last time I visited her was in August 2019, and as things stand now, it is anybody’s guess when I will be able to meet her again,” he said.