KOCHI: Sleepless hours. Frustration. Hunger. Stranded Indian passengers at Italian airports have been going through a lot in the past 72 hours. Ever since the airport officials prevented them from boarding their aircraft, the passengers have been on a fight against the injustice meted out to them. Most of them, who are still stuck there, are yet to come out of the shock.
“I was on the check-in line while talking to my mom. This was an emergency journey to meet my ailing father. I cut the call to complete the process. It was at the very last moment that the officials denied entry by citing the technicality. Next thing mom saw is my video in the television pleading for support from the government. She has been crying and I haven’t slept properly thereafter,” said Hima Biju, a Kottayam-native stranded at Rome Airport. After being stranded at the potentially virus-prone environment, the passengers are battling odds.
“There is a two-month-old baby and a pregnant woman amongst us. The child’s mother is even scared to feed it fearing infection. The baby is wrapped in more than three layers of clothes. Besides, many elderly women didn’t have the ability to sit there for a long time,” she said.
Remaining with available resources is another challenge they face. “Though many organisations have turned up to help us with food, many are scared to eat. The toilet facilities are abysmal and all of us are scared to even touch our face mask as there are no spare ones. As a result, many have stopped eating the available food,” said Hima.“
Most of us started wailing right after realising that we are going to be stuck here for an indefinite period. My blood pressure dropped on multiple occasions and others are facing physical issues as well,” she said. The first batch of 28 people stuck in Rome boarded the flight after receiving clearance from the medical team on Friday. Those stranded at Milan Airport will return on Saturday.
No support from medical labs
Unlike claims on social media that the Indian passengers did not approach hospitals or labs to obtain a certificate that they are free from infection, those stuck there have clarified that they approached medical labs only to be turned away. “All those labs were full of locals who tested positive. They weren’t ready to check asymptomatic individuals let alone foreign nationals,” said another passenger.
Booked tickets gone
The stranded passengers, a majority of them students, have shelled out their savings to buy air tickets in the time of crisis. “I have booked the ticket for 472. There are people who spent 700 or more for one way travel. We have contacted booking agencies and airlines through email and phone calls for refund, no response has been received yet. Many of us have booked the return flight and considering the lockdown, we have asked the officials to reschedule them as well,” said Muhammed Ashiq T, a PhD student stuck at Milan International airport.