Picture courtesy NZ Herald
Kabul: A pregnant reporter has been forced to seek refuge in Afghanistan after failing to return to her home country New Zealand amid COVID-19 restrictions.
The sequence of events and the ordeal faced by Charlotte Bellis are worthy of a film script.
Here goes…
Bellis, who was reporting on Afghanistan for Al Jazeera, wanted to fly back to New Zealand after discovering she was pregnant last September while in Qatar, Al Jazeera’s headquarters. But she couldn’t get an MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) spot, which is mandatory for anyone flying back to New Zealand.
The New Zealand journalist wrote an open letter in New Zealand Herald, expressing her desire to return home and give birth to her child after quitting her job in November.
She kept trying to fly to New Zealand, but couldn’t get an MIQ spot through the government’s lottery system.
Since it’s illegal for an unmarried woman to be pregnant in Qatar, Bellis then travelled to her partner’s country Belgium. But Belgian rules didn’t permit her to stay too long in that country. She was left with no option but to go back to Afghanistan.
She managed to organize a meeting with senior Taliban contacts and intimated them about her situation.
The Taliban assured her she and her partner will be safe in Afghanistan.
“We’re happy for you… you can come and you won’t have a problem. Just tell people you’re married and if it escalates, call us. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine,” Taliban told her through a translator, Bellis informed.
Bellis said her application for an MIQ spot was rejected on January 24, on the ground that the couple’s travel date was more than 14 days away and she hadn’t provided evidence of scheduled medical treatment in New Zealand.
Thereafter, New Zealand’s COVID-19 minister Chris Hipkins got involved. Her application status has now changed from ‘rejected’ to ‘under review in the MIQ website.
It remains to be seen if the New Zealand government has a change of heart in the coming days and comes to Bellis’ aid.
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