Millions of Australians who are dual citizens or have family abroad are facing a sombre holiday season with international border closures due to COVID-19 preventing Christmas reunions.
Most expats told The Sun-Herald they were grateful for Australia's capable handling of the virus. But even for those who agree with the travel ban and hotel quarantine, the heartache is no less.
Ayumi Clayton has lived in Australia for 30 years and usually goes back to Japan once a year to see her mother and other family.Credit:Wolter Peeters
For Ayumi Clayton, 52, from Sydney's northern beaches, this will be the first time in 30 years she has not gone back to Japan to see her family, especially her 80-year-old mother, either in June or at Christmas time.
"I do miss home more than before because I don't know when I can fly, when I can go home," Ms Clayton said. "I miss my family and friends and I've just said to my Mum 'please be well'. She's starting to get some dementia, which is pretty upsetting, and she's calling me every day and asking when I'm coming home."
Were it not for COVID-19, she would be travelling next week with her Australian-born husband and son but the need for a travel exemption, and the high cost of flights and hotel quarantine upon return make that impossible.
Ms Clayton has a friend who applied earlier in the year to visit her own sick mother in Japan. The Australian Border Force refused her an exemption to travel until her mother actually died and she needed to attend the funeral.
There are more than 7.5 million migrants in Australia, including 4.4 million dual citizens, with the biggest sources being England, China and India.
Canadian Penny Natos, who lives in Cherrybrook in Sydney, has made a tough decision to fly to Vancouver next week to see her 93-year-old father and her adult daughter, leaving behind her husband and 16-year-old son over Christmas.
"When you first get that exemption granted, it's like you've won the lottery," said Ms Natos, 58. "You're on a euphoric high and then it hits you, the reality of it that you're being forced to choose between one part of your family and the other."
Her father lives alone and his health is deteriorating so she wants to help him move into assisted living. The trip, which is costing $10,000 in airfares plus $3000 for hotel quarantine, also means she had to leave her job as a primary school teacher because she can't guarantee she will be back by February.
Penny Natos is about to leave her husband, son and job behind to visit her elderly father and adult daughter in Canada.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
The family has been in Australia for three years for her husband's work and Ms Natos moved here planning to fly back to Vancouver three or four times a year. She broadly supports Australia and Canada's handling of the pandemic but says the quarantine will be different in Vancouver because it will be home isolation.
For Helen from Manly, who asked for her last name withheld, 2020 has been an especially tough year. She and her husband are both from Britain and have lived here about a decade. Helen gave birth to twins last December and lost one at birth, while the other has ongoing health needs.
They moved to Australia knowing they were "only 24 hours away" if the family needed them. But in June, Helen's brother-in-law died by suicide and they found they couldn't get back to support the family and participate in a memorial service.
"When you go through a significant trauma or two, like we have, the first thing you want to do is to be with your loved ones," Helen said. "Not being able to do that is obviously devastating."
Arthur Wojcicki and Yana Ostrizhnaya, with their daughter Mira, 3, are missing family during the travel restrictions.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Arthur Wojcicki, from Poland via the United States, and his wife Yana Ostrizhnaya have lived in Australia for five years and their daughter Mira was born here.
Mr Wojcicki said he could "definitely feel the distance" with his parents ageing. Before the pandemic he was able to visit once a year and organise work projects for an extended stay. His father died a year ago and he has a visa to bring his mother to Australia, but is awaiting an exemption for her to travel, and worrying about her living in South Carolina where many people believe the virus is fake.
The couple bought a home in Coburg in Melbourne not long ago but are feeling unsettled. "We started to have lots of conversations this year, that we might have to just uproot ourselves and just leave and to take care of my mum," he said.
Dave Sharma, the Liberal MP for Wentworth in eastern Sydney who several months ago described the travel ban as a "pretty extraordinary restriction on people's liberty" said the situation was unlikely to change.
"I have a lot of sympathy for those with family members overseas whose travel plans have been disrupted by the COVID pandemic," Mr Sharma said.
"Unfortunately that is just the reality right now. As we have seen overseas with second and third waves, and with the outbreak from hotel quarantine in Victoria, COVID-19 is far from defeated, and the best means of protecting the health of Australians is to maintain our stringent border controls and quarantine arrangements."
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Caitlin Fitzsimmons is a senior writer for The Sun-Herald, focusing on social affairs.
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2020-12-05 08:19:00Z
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