Darwin grandma stranded overseas for six months during pandemic
A DARWIN grandmother, who has been stranded in Spain since March, is pleading with the government to increase the cap on international arrivals so she can finally return home
Northern Territory
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A DARWIN grandmother, who has been stranded in Spain since March, is pleading with the government to increase the cap on international arrivals so she can finally return home.
When Chatarina Helwend, 78, left her home in Darwin to visit to her grandson in Spain she’d only been there a few weeks when the coronavirus pandemic forced the country into lockdown on March 16.
Spain had started to ease lockdown restrictions by the end of June, leaving Ms Helwend a window to return home to Australia but flights back home proved scarce and mostly unaffordable.
Daughter Polyn Bungalay-Helwend said her mother’s frail health and the cap on international arrivals imposed by the Federal Government had made things even harder.
“My mum’s three-week holiday has now become a six month drama with herself and her travel companion being constantly bumped off flights from London to Sydney,” she said.
“The biggest dilemma we now face is if my mum flies to London and gets bumped off her next flight to Australia on September 21 she could be stranded in the UK.
“She will not be able to return to our home in Spain due to the expiration of her Schengen Visa but if she remains here in Spain she will become an illegal.”
She claims the embassy in Spain has not be of much help.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said, “the Australian Government has worked tirelessly to find options to return Australians stranded overseas with no access to commercial options”.
Last week the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 23,000 Australians have now registered with the Government to indicate they want to come home.
A NT Government spokesman said they were working with DFAT to make sure Territorians can get home.
“We know this is incredibly frustrating for a lot of families around the country who are in this position,” he said.
“This is a federal government responsibility and we are working with them to make sure Territorians can get home safely and soon as possible.
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“Any Territorian who is overseas and needs support should contact their local embassy or DFAT, who are in the best position to assist.”