Gold Coast mum Lynne Stewart escapes UK, campaigns for removal of caps as world shocked by abandonment of citizens
A Gold Coast woman who escaped the UK "after eight weeks of hell" reveals the harrowing reality Aussies abandoned overseas face every day.
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ABANDONED, excluded and deserted describes how an estimated 30,000 Australians scattered across the globe feel right now, says recently returned Gold Coast mum Lynne Stewart.
“No one should ever be excluded from their own country like this,” she said.
“I will never again take for granted being able to return home to my country or to hug my son or to breathe fresh air.
“There is also an element of guilt that I’m here while so many other vulnerable people are still stranded.
“We need to be their voice and stand up for their right to come home by lifting the caps.”
Ms Stewart, of Oxenford, flew to Scotland at the end of July to be at her dying mother’s side. Sadly, she died before she got there.
The grieving single mother was booked to fly home on August 19 but the flight was cancelled at the last minute because of government caps on overseas arrivals.
She then booked and paid for four flights with four different airlines in a desperate attempt to return to her 12-year-old autistic son Alex, who was being taken care of by friends.
Australian’s High Commission contacted Ms Stewart shortly after her plight was featured in the Bulletin, saying it had put a request to the airline for her.
She arrived home on September 26 and undertook two-weeks quarantine on the Gold Coast.
“I was finally homeward bound after eight weeks of hell,” she said.
“But my heart goes out to those who are still stranded, many in dire situations. Many will not be home for Christmas.
“They’re effectively made refugees with no rights to stay where they are and no way home.
“For me this was the worst part of all of this. Feeling abandoned with no way home to my son and no end in sight.
“People from around the world are shocked by what’s happening. This is not their vision of Australia.
“There also needs to be a review of the quarantine process, which is such a source of distress for so many people who deserve to be home seeing out their final days or recovering from lifesaving surgery.
“These people are not a threat to our community. Most have been extremely careful about potential exposure to COVID and just want to be at home.”
Ms Stewart said during her time in hotel quarantine fresh air was a luxury and two weeks of confinement was the “final straw during a time that has already been immensely stressful”.
“Quarantine is not a hotel stay, it is detention for government health requirements, in a closed room in a building that previously operated as a hotel.
"I spent a lot of my time in quarantine boosting the morale of those still stranded like others did for me. There were also visits from the street outside my window and lots of FaceTime chats with my family and friends, as well as some thoughtful care packs.
“The last day was a crazy mixture of excitement and nerves and felt like the longest day in history. I got the biggest hugs from my boy which was the best feeling after almost 10 weeks and am just so happy to be home.”
"My friends have been an amazing support through all of this. I now realise how stressed they were too and how worried they were for me."
Emma Woods, a former Marymount College student from the Gold Coast, was couch surfing in Spain after having her flights home cancelled. She was offered a Qatar flight to Brisbane, leaving October 21 and arriving the day after.
“I’m still feeling quite nervous as online check-in is not available for flights to Australia at the moment. So until I actually have my boarding pass in hand I don’t think I’ll be able to fully relax,” she said.
The Bulletin also highlighted the situation of Gold Coast veteran Ryan Hodson, who has been stuck in the Philippines surviving on snakes.
He has been told by the Australian embassy in the Philippines that they’ll fund a replacement passport, visa and airline ticket for him.
“It’s not Brisbane but I’ll take it. We’ll see how I go with the caps if I get bumped or not, but I’m extremely happy,” he said, “The pen is mightier than the sword it seems.”
STUCK IN SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 18
“LIKE a nightmare with no end. I cried non-stop for three days.”
These are the heartbreaking words of Gold Coast single mother Lynne Stewart who can’t fly home to care for her 13-year-old autistic son because she’s stuck in Scotland grieving for a mother she never had the chance to say goodbye to.
“The entire situation is made worse by not being entitled to any government support over here. I am now borrowing from friends to survive,” she said.
“For the first time ever I’m unable to pay my mortgage. I live in constant fear of the cooling weather here and the increasing COVID cases.
“I’ve also missed a cardiac review for some heart issues that are being monitored and I have a tumour on my thyroid that is potentially cancerous and increasing in size.
“I am not OK. I am only just surviving because right now I have no other choice.”
PLEAS FROM COASTERS STUCK OVERSEAS TO PREMIER … GET US HOME!
She’s desperate for the federal and state governments to stop the blame game and work together to remove the cap on returning citizens so thousands of Australians stranded overseas can return home.
“We are begging to not be forgotten,” said the Oxenford local.
“I never could have imagined anything would keep me separated from my children for this length of time.
“Keeping a mother from her child is the worst kind of cruel and naturally comes with its own feelings of guilt about somehow failing to provide as a parent for your child’s most basic needs.
“He’s not really coping.
“I have a friend looking after him at home which is an amazing help and the best place for Alex (Stuckings) to be with his things and pets around him.
“I’m already wondering if I will be home for Christmas and this just doesn’t bare thinking about.”
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Ms Stewart flew to Scotland at the end of July after booking flights and organising an exemption to fly to be at her dying mother’s side. But she died before she got there.
She didn’t bring Alex with her because of the potential risk of COVID and was unaware that her return flight would be cancelled because of government regulations.
“It was heartbreaking to not get here on time, to say goodbye to my mum. But I continued with my travel plans in order to organise funeral plans and say my goodbyes. As executor I also had lots to attend to,” she said.
Fast forward to August 16, her bag was packed, her COVID test negative and she was excited about flying home on August 19 to be united with her son. But the flight was cancelled.
“It took about 10 hours and 20 calls to the 24-hour emergency line of the Australian High Commission in London before I finally got a person on the line at 3am.
“I was told ‘there is nothing we can do, we don’t control the borders’.”
Beside herself with grief and anxiety and desperate to be with her son, she booked four flights with four different airlines and paid upfront for three.
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“On the 31st of August my booked but unpaid flight was cancelled alongside my second confirmed flight home.”
Ms Stewart is now anxiously awaiting her next flight home on September 25, saying she’s “remaining hopeful but knowing realistically that they are already cancelling January flights”.
After that her next option is November 4.
“I don’t know how I will take another disappointment given that most airlines are no longer taking new bookings as they simply can’t afford to fly all that way with 30 passengers on board.”
With several health issues under review at Gold Coast University Hospital, Ms Stewart said she was not equipped for winter in the United Kingdom having lived in Australia for 30 years.
“We need action we need caps lifted we need repatriation. We feel abandoned and forgotten,” she said.
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