Yearning to Return

All was okay until the emergence of Covid-19 and then “boom” things started falling apart!

March 2020 saw the NZ Labour Party announce the closure of borders to all travellers except for citizens, permanent residents, and critical health workers who are eligible to apply for border exemptions. The move by the government to protect its people was by no doubt the best the world has ever seen but the consequences of this decision has become “a thorn in the flesh” for migrants who are stuck offshore. Temporary visa applications for offshore migrants have thus been suspended since August 2020 until further notice, whilst those within New Zealand have had to go through bureaucratic processes to get visas renewed.

The mental strain coupled with emotional distress migrants continue to suffer is immeasurable, and this is due to the fact that one is unable to return to New Zealand after leaving the country to visit their family overseas.

Although Uni wouldn’t publicly admit that money is a key factor in enticing international students to study at Otago, the massive income generated by NZ universities from international students- is enough to finance Emily Fau-Goodwin’s campaign to win the 2022 OUSA election! Steps have been taken to ensure that papers are delivered online, in order to stabilize the uncertainties experienced by the education sector as a result of the global pandemic. But the 2% increment of fees for new international students in 2022 by the university council is deemed as ‘inconsiderate’ by many, who empathise with the financial strain offshore students are going through since the arrival of Covid and the subsequent shutting down of borders.

Superficially, the government’s approach in tackling the pandemic has been hailed as phenomenal by patriots who feel health and safety of citizens is paramount to nothing, albeit the economic development minister Stuart Nash granted border exemption to film producers and investors with lots of cash simply because of their significant contribution to the economy- forgetting that Ph.D. students are also valuable! In fact, setting the bar so high for postgrad students on the post-study work visa to get residency even after completing their qualifications and also working hard while paying taxes to the government- is hypocritical in every sense. Nevertheless, “if you don’t like it here, pack your bags and bugger off to where you came from” rings in the minds of migrants whose only sin is to be in Aotearoa at a most difficult time in history.

I, for one, have spent close to $50,000.00 on my educational pilgrimage to study at Otago and now there are no hopes of me getting my sponsorship support back- all because I cannot return to campus for a full-time study, and my benefactor seems unwilling to pay for papers enrolled online. I cannot put the disappointment and anguish into writing, only God knows how I feel… I got to be circumspect in my statements before giving INZ the middle finger, which could land me in trouble.