By Tasneem Adams

What was meant to be an exciting family vacation has turned to one of distress for a Cape Town family who are stranded in Thailand with no certainty of when they can return home. Seraaj and Washiela Esack and their three children have been cooped up in their hotel room in Phuket for the past week, unable to leave the South-East Asian country due to the 21 day lockdown in South Africa. The national lockdown, which came into effect on Friday 27th March, aims to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The country’s borders have been closed to restrict the movement of travellers during this period.

The Surrey Estate family left South Africa on the 20 March and arrived in Thailand the next day, not knowing that their holiday, which had been months in the making, would be turned on its head.

“We left for Thailand because it was not considered a high-risk country at the time. And we were not warned by our agent that flights could be suspended if a lockdown takes place,” said Washiela.

Two days later, President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement that South Africa would commence the national lockdown from Friday 27 March until 16th April. This led Emirates Airlines to suspend their flights to South Africa.

“Our agent gave us the option of Qatar Airlines, which would have cost us R200 000…we could simply not afford this. He then managed to book a flight on Ethiopia Airlines for just under R60 000. But during the lockdown, Ethiopia Airlines also suspended their flights,” said Washielah.

The couple contacted the South African embassy in Bangkok to find out if they would be able to travel to the capital. They were advised to stay in Phuket due to the risk of the coronavirus being far greater in Bangkok. They then cancelled their flight to Bangkok.

Content with staying in the country until the end of the South African lockdown, the family were thrown another curve ball when they heard that Thailand would commence a full lockdown from the 10th April until the 30th April.

Desperate to leave Thailand soon, Washielah contacted the SA embassy to urge the government to assist them with a flight home, but this proved futile.

“All they said was that they could give us a letter requesting Thailand to allow us to stay longer in the country. They [embassy] said there’s no way they could provide us with a flight home,” explained Washielah.

“We looked at options of flying to a country that is not under lockdown, so that when the SA borders open again, then we can fly home. But most borders have been closed.”

The family are footing the bill for their extended stay in Thailand.

“We had travel insurance but when we contacted the agency, they said they do not cover the issues related to COVID-19. Unfortunately, the Thailand government cannot assist us with any financial means during our stay here, so we have to cough up the money.”

What’s made the situation more difficult is that Phuket is currently under a soft curfew and most shops, restaurants, markets, clubs and other tourist sites are closed. Supermarkets, pharmacies, and doctors are the only services open to the public. The country has 2,067 COVID-19 cases and twenty people have died, as of Saturday.

In a bid for help, the family turned to Facebook and have since joined a group for tourists in Thailand. With the help of determined individuals in South Africa, there are plans afoot to assist this group. According to Washielah, there were some 120 South Africans who are on holiday in Thailand and want to be repatriated home.

It’s been revealed that there are 1471 South Africans stranded abroad, 224 of them tourists.

Speaking to VOC, DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Darren Bergman said the party has been fielding queries from South Africans stranded in airports and country all over the world due to the lockdown.

“These South Africans could soon be left homeless due to budgetary constraints and the Department’s poor response to their situation,” he said.

“During these unprecedented times of uncertainty no citizen should be left to feel alone and ignored by their government. The DA, therefore, urges the Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor, to rectify this situation immediately to ensure that those South Africans stuck abroad can return home.”

Attempts to contact DIRCO for comment was unsuccessful, however addressing an inter-ministerial briefing this week, Pandor said they are working on the situation.

“We empathise with their plight and are doing whatever is within our means to assist them to be safe, as comfortable as possible, and to travel back to South Africa,” Pandor said.

DIRCO is prioritising those who are stranded at airports, those without accommodation, the elderly and the sick.

“Our missions, where possible, will continue to render consular services, including negotiating with the governments where there are lockdowns, in order to facilitate the movement of stranded South Africans.”

With their lives in a state of limbo, Washielah and Seraaj are trying hard to keep strong.

“We are trying not to stress because we don’t want our children to panic. We want them to see that they have the support of their parents. But it’s not an easy situation at all.”

Washielah said they are concerned about the kids missing school and university, but fortunately, they have a laptop and are doing online-learning for now.
They have also found support in family back home with daily skype calls.

For now, the Essack family are praying they return home soon.

“We know it’s out of our control. This is all Allah’s plan. InshaAllah, we make dua everything works out.”