‘An explosion of emotions’: Australians count down to borders reopening after 20 months

Anika and Sam always planned to have three children, until the COVID-19 pandemic caused Sam to lose his job as a pilot. Source: Supplied               It is the day many Australians have been waiting for nearly 20 months. On Monday, they will be able to board international flights once more; and in NSW and Victoria, welcome quarantine-free arrivals.

Anika Saad, who lives with her husband Sam and their two daughters in southwest Sydney, can’t quite believe it.

The closed borders locked her away from her parents in Germany and caused her husband, an international pilot, to lose his job overnight. Their finances took a nosedive, along with Anika’s mental health, as she struggled to care for her two young daughters without family support.

But with her parents arriving on 10 November from Germany for a four-week holiday, when they will meet their youngest granddaughter for the first time, she says she is a changed person.

“I haven’t comprehended it yet,” Anika told SBS News. “They booked as soon as they heard the borders were going to be open. The moment I got the exemption and the visa was granted it felt like Christmas, birthdays, everything for me all at once. It was an explosion of emotions. I was crying, I was happy.

“My little one kept asking me, ‘mummy why are you crying?’ and I said, ‘it’s happy tears!'”

Anika hasn’t seen her parents for two years.

“Just waiting for the moment when I can hug my mum and my dad, I can’t describe it,” she said.

Borders partially open after 20 months

Since March 2020 most Australians have been banned from leaving the country, while restrictive caps and expensive hotel quarantine have made it almost impossible for many to come in, a situation particularly challenging for millions of Australians with family overseas.

But from Monday, fully vaccinated citizens and permanent residents will be permitted to fly overseas without needing to apply for an exemption.

Australian citizens, residents and their families flying into NSW, Victoria of the ACT will no longer need to quarantine.

Victoria reached its 80 per cent double dose vaccination target for residents aged 16 and over on Sunday, triggering quarantine-free travel in line with the federal government’s reopening roadmap. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory have already whizzed past the milestone.

However, Australians in Western Australia, Queensland,  South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, which have yet to reach the milestone, will be forced to wait a little longer until they can welcome family members from overseas.

‘I can finally breathe again’

For Anika, just knowing her parents are able to come to Australia and she is able to visit them in Germany is a huge relief.

“It feels like all the pressure has been taken off me. I can finally breathe again. Mentally I’m doing so much better. It’s the best news ever,” she said.

She is also hoping Sam can return to work.

“He has put his hand up to return to work because he really really misses flying. He can go back to flying and our finances will be secure again and then, maybe one day, we can have baby number three.”

‘Over the moon’

In the 11 days to 30 October, nearly 780,000 international COVID-19 vaccination certificates have been generated as Australians prepare to travel overseas.

In Sydney, Umer Malik is preparing to travel to Pakistan so his five-year-old son can meet his grandmother for the first time in two years.

“I am feeling over the moon. I am feeling really excited,” he told SBS News. “I’m feeling great. It has been a while. I haven’t seen my mother in two years.”

In April, his mother contracted COVID-19 and has now recovered.

The experience has made Umer grateful that the family can now reconnect.

“She was quite critical and I was literally crying. I couldn’t go and meet her,” he said. “Thankfully she is okay now.”

“This travel ban was taking a lot of emotional and mental toll on everyone.”

A big hug is the first thing on the to-do list, as are meetings with family and friends.

“Absolutely a big hug (is on the cards). And when you’re seeing your loved ones after such a long time – I will be really emotional as well because my mother is everything for me.”

‘Crazy time’ for travel agents

Travel agents and tour operators say they are already overwhelmed with Australians booking overseas trips.

Bhim Neupane, managing director of Buddha Travel and Tours, which specialises in booking travel to India, says he is “really excited” to get his clients travelling again.

“There are so many waiting to book trips overseas. They are waiting to visit their relatives and to travel overseas for their work and also, of course, taking holidays overseas. This news is bringing happiness to my clients, my staff and myself,” he told SBS News.