Australian pleads to come home after visiting dying mother in the Philippines
"My wife is in Melbourne. She's the one holding down the fort. I've lost my job because of my mum's situation," Filipino-Australian Ricky Vasquez shares.
The earliest sweeper flight to Melbourne could be at the end of October, but there is no assurance that it won't get cancelled.Ricky, who had been living in Melbourne since 2008, planned to fly to the Philippines to take care of his ailing mother at the end of March."In the meantime, my mum's condition took a turn for the worse."
Being a dual citizen, Ricky thought he would be allowed to travel without any issues. When he got to the airport, however, he was told he had to get a travel exemption from the Australian Border Force on compassionate grounds."It was on the spot. Luckily, the flight was delayed for about three hours and I was able to fly out.""She was in the hospital already then.
Due to community quarantines in the Philippines, Ricky had a difficult time organising his mum's wake and cremation."My mum's wish was to be cremated. She didn't suffer from COVID and crematoriums then prioritised those who died from the virus. We had to wait 10 days to get her cremated.""I gave myself a month to tend to my mum's affairs...now, [every one of us stuck abroad] just want to go home.
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