'We’ve been abandoned': Families stranded abroad speak out

Tens of thousands of Brits from across the country are currently stranded abroad due to various flight restrictions across the world, with people stuck in countries from Peru to India and Pakistan.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab yesterday announced that £75 million would be allocated to charter special flights to get citizens home.

Meanwhile the Government has also announced that it will be working with commercial airlines such as easyJet to increase the number of flights.

However no date has yet been announced, leaving thousands of families and their loved ones without answers.

One of these is Wajid Majeeid, who has been trapped in Pakistan with his family ever since the country announced a nationwide lockdown on March 21.

And he says he feels like they have been "abandoned" by the British government, which has given no indication of when they may be able to fly home.

“The Pakistani authorities haven’t given any information about when I will be able to go home and the flights that they claimed were available were priced between £1,000 and £1,500 just for one way which is ridiculous,” he said.

“I already had a ticket with PIA to return home and they were not honouring the tickets that I already had and were saying me and my family had to purchase the more expensive tickets which I just can’t afford.

“I feel so disappointed that the British government has abandoned me and my family because I also have my three young daughters, the oldest being 19 and youngest being 10 and 12, still in the UK, and at such a devastating time with what is going on with this pandemic I really need to be with my loved ones.

“I have been a taxpayer all my life and when I am in need of help in this rare situation I’ve been let down massively and there are thousands of British holidaymakers in the same situation.

“I need our government to arrange chartered flights immediately to get the British citizens back home.”

In the case of Rizwana Armaani, her family are also stranded in Pakistan, while she says she feels "helpless" here in the UK.

And she’s worried about her family members getting the medication they need if they are stranded abroad for much longer.

“I have literally been running around like a headless chicken contacting so many different departments on numerous occasions,” she said.

“My family are stranded in Pakistan, I feel like I have just been shrugged off by everyone who is supposed to help us.

“I have six high-priority family members and four out of six of them are heart patients and insulin-dependent diabetics. They don’t have enough medicines to last them and we need to get them back.

“My whole family is traumatised as they have left behind dependent children. We stress so much knowing that they’re a thousand miles away, if anything bad was to happen we can’t get to them and they can’t get to us; it’s costing me my health.

“With Ramadan starting in mid-April it is meant to be for families eating together praying together, we don’t know if we’ll see our family again as their daily living medicine is on a very low supply.”

For Sutton Coldfield resident Robbie Chahal, it’s his elderly parents and sister he’s trying to get repatriated from India, all of whom have health conditions.

And he says he’s worried about the impact the current situation is having on their health.

“Now my parents are both in their 70s, both have health conditions, my dad’s had various heart conditions he’s got stents in his heart,” he said.

“They both suffer from high blood pressure, and my sister who’s out there suffers from learning difficulties. And then also they have my four-year-old nephew.

“So obviously people back here, myself, my sister, are obviously anxious about what the situation is, and the lack of communication coming out of India isn’t very helpful.

“It’s been quite difficult to get in touch with the foreign office – I’ve tried to call them multiple times, but I guess there are thousands of people trying to do the same. So you’re kind of reliant on an email.

“MP Andrew Mitchell and Councillor Ewan Mackey have been very supportive and very responsive, and I have been very pleased with that. But I imagine there’s only so much they can do, and they are doing what they can to get across to government that people are in desperate need of getting their family back.”

Talib Hussain is another who is currently stranded in Pakistan. He and his wife were due to fly back on March 23, but have been without a route home ever since the borders closed on the 21st.

“We are stranded in Pakistan,” he said.

“We are currently staying with relatives. I suffer from coeliac disease and have to stick to a gluten free diets. All my food has run out and I am unable to purchase anything from the remote village I live in.

“We are very anxious to get back home to our children and grandchildren my wife is particularly upset as she suffers from severe anxiety. We don’t really know what’s happening now. There are many rumours and also people trying to scam us by saying they can get us flights but they want the money upfront!"

Jehan Zeb is another whose family are trapped in Pakistan, having been due to fly back on March 26.

And he says it is lack of information that is causing the most anxiety among his family.

“My daughter, son in law and two grandchildren are stuck in Pakistan,” he said.

“The kids are very stressed at the moment which is rubbing off on both parents as they have jobs here to return to plus the additional expenses they had not budget for.

“But its the conflicting and lack of information that’s the most worrying. No one here or there can give us accurate information as to how they are going to get back, I’ve tried as much as possible from here but can’t do any more.”