There is a saying that you can always tell someone who is far from home by the sadness in their eyes.
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This is unfortunately evident every which way we look these days and particularly due to the coverage in the media of people - including Australians - stranded overseas, unable to return because of pandemic-related lock downs and travel restrictions.
It was difficult to fathom some of the practical difficulties people were experiencing when the pandemic first hit.
But four to five months down the track and with no real end in sight, families are looking at prolonged situations of uncertainty and destitution. Their eyes are not only sad, they are starting to look haunted.
The haunted expressions are related to family separation - not knowing when family members will be reunited and how they will survive financially, emotionally and psychologically.
They are unsettled, for neither the past, nor the present, nor the future is a safe place for a mind to linger for long.
Despite the sadness in their eyes and the pain they feel from family separation, they remain optimistic and hopeful for a future that sees them back in the arms of their loved ones.
In the course of providing supports under the Tasmanian government's emergency relief package to temporary visa holders, we have compiled this collection of experiences of skilled migrants who have found themselves in very difficult circumstances.
A family of three (mother, father and son) moved to Tasmania to enable the mother to complete her final year at university. The family would then apply for permanent residency after she graduated. In the meantime, the son completed college in 2019, had accepted a place in a Melbourne institution to start a science degree, and moved to Victoria in January 2020. The father went home to his country of origin to visit his ailing parents and the plan was for him to return to Victoria to set up a home with his son and wife. The father is yet to return, the son is in Melbourne on his own, and the mother remains in Tasmania working to support all of them.
A number of seasonal workers will not see their families for up to 12 to 15 months. They had already been here since late 2019 for the summer picking season and are now waiting for borders to reopen so they can return home. Some have been supported by their Tasmanian friends to take up seasonal work in other states.
A woman whose husband is on a student visa travelled to Europe as part of his studies prior to the international travel bans. The couple was expecting their first child, with the husband booked to return to Tasmania ahead of the due date. Sadly, the husband was absent for the birth, and mother and baby are confined to home. As a full-time parent, the mother is not able to work, she does not drive and has limited personal networks from whom to seek support.
Parents of overseas students were visiting and are now waiting for flights to become available. Their funds are quickly being depleted staying in hotel accommodation for over three months and meeting the expenses of the students, who have lost their jobs as casual baristas, waiters and cleaners.
A young man completing his PhD was working in a restaurant to support himself while studying. When COVID-19 locked down hospitality, he lost his job. His family is in a country that is significantly impacted by the pandemic and is therefore not able to support him financially. He has been struggling to pay rent, buy food and credit for his phone to maintain contact with family and seek other work.
On a working visa, a man lost his job and found himself living in the mall and not aware of services he could go to for help. Unable to return home, he was living off the kindness of strangers.
Migrants make significant sacrifices to travel overseas to study and work. They come to Australia with a strong desire to contribute and with goals to improve their lives and their families'. Many of them are from countries where poverty is visible and many know all too well about hardship.
The people we have been able to assist through the Tasmanian government's relief package might be experiencing physical poverty right now, but they are certainly determined not to show poverty of the spirit.
Despite the sadness in their eyes and the pain they feel from family separation, they remain optimistic and hopeful for a future that sees them back in the arms of their loved ones.
- Ella Dixon is the chief executive officer at the Migrant Resource Centre Northern Tas. MRC is a not-for-profit organisation providing quality services that assist migrants to settle and participate in all aspects of life.
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