Stranded, homesick South Africans desperate to come home
As COVID-19 spread across the world - and lockdowns were implemented, millions of people were left
stranded all over the world as airlines and borders shut down. This included roughly 3600 South Africans - some of whom have been telling me how homesick they are get back to their families.
Listen to their voice notes below.
Scary and challenging times indeed … and like nothing most of us have ever known before.
Depending on where you are in the world, most schools, pubs, restaurants, cafes and gyms are closed … public gatherings are banned and many Governments have introduced police-enforced lockdowns with drastic new measures in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
If you can leave home, it’s probably under a list of very limited purposes… and while many of us become more frustrated by the day from being locked in, the majority of us are lucky enough to be living with family – or at the very least have family living close by.
However, with social distancing, if you’re not living with family, a familiar hug is but a distant memory.
There’s no mistaking that times are tough, but those of us who are still lucky enough to be in the same country as family or friends … can at least pick the phone and have a chat if we’re feeling low.
Just knowing a family member or friend is close by seems to make things a little bit easier to handle.
But what about those people who are stranded in a foreign country. Some have no work and no money to even call a family member.
As COVID-19 spread, millions of people were left stranded all over the world as airlines and borders shut down.
Panic and confusion spread like wild fire and as citizens from different parts of the world tried to get home, many were being charged exorbitant fares for a one-way ticket home.
HomeAwayFromHome (HAFH) is an initiative started by Hayley Reichert, a South African citizen living in London - and Darren Bergman, MP, Shadow Minister of International Relations. Together with a team of volunteers their aim is to get the roughly 3600 South African’s home.
Currently 2013 South Africans have been repatriated either on official repatriation flights / private charter or by road.
For more info or if you know someone stranded outside out of South Africa, please contact Hayley on WhatsApp on +44 777 1622570 or email here at [email protected].