Lockdown, the ideal time to evacuate Indians stuck abroad

NEW DELHI: Families of the Indians stranded in Japan have intensified efforts for their evacuation saying that lockdown is the ideal time for smooth retrieval. The situation in Japan where nationwide emergency was declared on Thursday evening amid surging coronavirus cases there, is getting worse and Indian nationals are more vulnerable to the deadly virus there than India.

India is a safer place to be for them as it is geared up more effectively to fight the Coronavirus outbreak whereas Japan’s healthcare infrastructure is already strained due to surging COVID-19 cases, said the relatives here.    

Having missed the opportunity of using two dozen chartered Japanese flights (JAL and ANA) which were flown from New Delhi to Tokyo for evacuating Japanese nationals from India between March 23 and April 14, and could have been boarded by the Indians to come back to India; the Indian government could use the lockdown period for the safe evacuation of Indians from Japan to India asserted the relatives here.

“Since India has extended lockdown to May 3, this is the opportune time to rescue Indians stuck in Japan as well as other countries. With no movement of passengers at the airports because of lockdown, the Indian nationals can be quarantined and monitored easily without jeopardizing the health of others. If the evacuation is carried out in the post lockdown period, it would become extremely tough to separate, quarantine or trace them,” said Shweta Vijayvargia, the aggrieved wife of Kamal Vijayvargia, a businessman from Jaipur stranded in Tokyo.

She along with her four children with the youngest one of 3-year waits for her husband in their Jaipur apartment.   

She said, therefore, it was crucial to carry out this exercise before the lockdown was thrown open to ensure the safety of the people who are rescued and the safety of the entire country.

There are public voices echoing in many countries like the US, UK, and UAE expecting the Indian government to evacuate Indian citizens from their respective countries as soon as possible. Also, there are speculations about local people questioning as to why citizens of other countries are still in Japan and not sent back home as yet.

The relatives here fear, “Japan has already reached its maximum capacity in terms of hospital beds and less severe cases are being shifted/quarantined in hotels. In such a scenario, it is highly unlikely that Indian nationals would be given preference.”

Hundreds of Indian nationals are stranded in Japan due to the current pandemic situation. Their families, children, dependent elderlies, and spouses have made repeated attempts to urge various authorities for evacuation but to no avail.

Payal Sharma, the wife of Akhilesh Sharma – an IT professional from Indirapuram who had gone to Japan in December last year and got stuck there, is staying with three kids in India. Akhilesh was to return to India on April 1. , said that he, like many other Indians, stranded in Japan due to Lockdown in India.

“I am living with small kids with no male members present in the house. I am already on medication for rheumatoid arthritis and cervical spondylitis disease. I feel totally helpless to support kids alone,” said Payal.

The Indian women professionals most affected in Japan

The situation is worse for the women professionals and students who are stuck at the foreign land without any external help coming to them as their families, spouses, and parents remain in India but cannot do anything for them because of the total lockdown here.

Sharmania, a student living in Shizuka, Japan for the four years on a student visa, as school ended in March and also the room rent agreement expired, now she is forced to live in a hotel but might run out of money to foot the hotel bill.

“We were to fly on 24^th march, many others like us stranded in Osaka and Soporo, please arrange for a flight so that we could go back to our homes in India,” said the apparently frightened Sharmania.

In a self-shot video Vrinda, the mother of 5-year old who is in India with in-laws, she was seen crying to unite with her family. She was supposed to fly back to India on March 25.

“I really need to go back to rejoin my family,” Vrinda said while screaming.  

Ambili Prabha, who is currently stranded in Kokubunji in western Tokyo hails from Calicut, Kerala. She reached Japan on January 19 for an official assignment and was supposed to return on March 27.

“As my ticket got canceled due to the international flight restrictions imposed by the Indian government, I rescheduled my ticket to April 1 and that too got canceled due to lockdown in India. I am alone in Japan as my family members like husband and daughter are in Kerala. I am facing great difficulty to continue here, so please arrange a way to land India,” she appealed.

Meanwhile, back in India in the past three weeks, a score of specially arranged chartered flights have evacuated European and Asian nationals from India.

the case in point is: The JAL flight that was arranged to fly 13 Japanese nationals back home to Japan yesterday. Indians stuck in Japan have made multiple and relentless attempts to push the Indian embassy in Japan to highlight the fact that these flights would be leaving for India empty and instead could be used for evacuating the Indian nationals stuck in Japan. But to no use. Alas.

Also read: Stuck in Japan, Indians remember Supermom Sushma Swaraj