What can I expect from my embassy?

Today I tried to get consular assistance from the Australian High Commission (AHC) in Kuala Lumpur so I could join the repatriation flight from Jakarta to Brisbane. Here is what happened.

12:10 – Called the AHC, explained my situation and requested assistance so we could board the flight to Jakarta and join the repatriation flight from Jakarta to Brisbane. The consular section personnel told me to call the Australian embassy in Jakarta.

12:42 – Called the Australian embassy in Jakarta. The call went unanswered.

12: 45 – Tried to call the Australian embassy in Jakarta on their second number. The call went unanswered.

I thought I should give it a break as they might have gone to lunch early. Called my Indonesian (Indo) friend, who gave the best advice though perhaps not the most legal one. Hire an escort service at the airport and this person will make sure you skip all the red tape. Fee is around 1 to 2 million rupiah.

Thought a little bit more and decided that we need to do this the right way. So back to calling embassies. This time I decided to call the Indo embassy to find out more about their current travel restriction.

15:16 – Called the KBRI (Indo Embassy) in Kuala Lumpur. It rang and no one answered.

15:22 – Found and called a different number for KBRI. It rang, went through the options, and no one answered.

15:25 – Called the first number again and the same thing happened.

18:50 – Called the Australian embassy in Jakarta. This time it went through. Someone answered my call outside of their office hours. The person who answered my call said his name is Aldy and asked how he could help me. Told him my situation and asked if the embassy would be able to help us join the flight in Jakarta. Aldy asked what my nationality is, my Indonesian visa status and whether or not I have an Indonesian passport. Afterwards, he asked why I called the embassy in Jakarta and not the one in Malaysia as I am residing in KL. I told that the AHC here told me that it is not their jurisdiction to help. Aldy said the same thing as well.

The embassy has no power to help as repatriation flights are often organised by private companies. So that means I will have to contact the agent who organised the flight and perhaps pay an airport escort to that I can do my transit in peace. Though the immediate problem is whether or not we can board the Garuda flight to Indonesia.

After emailing our organiser, they now have asked for our Garuda tickets. They will apply for the visa and hire an escort to make sure we will be able to pass custom and immigration hassle free.

I have lived in China and Indonesia. Both are quite corrupt and I do like it. China… we can play the dumb foreigner card though not all the time. In Indonesia the corruption benefits both sides and I am glad to be one of those sides in this very case.

My government has disappointed me today. Seems like no one wanted to take the responsibility and make sure they always give you a solution. Whether the solution is useful or not depends on how you make of it.

I guess the saying I have been hearing is true after all.

UPDATE

So the AHCKL called me a day or two after I posted this and again today. They wanted to make sure that I have everything prepared for the repatriation flights. We told them that CapaJet and Trips Exotica would be arranging our transit visa and escort service to make sure things go well in Jakarta. Though having said that, these two companies are actually very slow in getting back to us whenever we have questions.

Update: it seems that everything is going ahead, we are packing tonight and will set off tomorrow, small part of us still expecting to be sent back but we will see.

Conclusion? All government bodies can work together to help citizens living abroad. AHCKL called us because they received information from the embassy in Jakarta. Regardless what, when, where and how, I feel that embassies have the power to get the information from the local government more than we can. Instead the first action they took was passing me around from one embassy to the next.

Down the rabbit hole

I have had a great week, with tutoring and lunch with a parent from my last school. However, today is not exactly a good day for me.

I was on Facebook and for awhile, I have made an effort not to check on Facebook. It is filled with news about lifting the caps, arrival, quarantine, and sad stories about citizens who are stranded. It is good to keep myself informed about the situation back home, but today it hit the wrong button.

One of the members from Lift the Cap Facebook group posted a video clip of a debate about the cap. I don’t remember who she was questioning, but she asked them to explain why people who hold students and business/investment visa are allowed to enter Australia, possibly taking the place of any Australians who want to come home.

It really saddens me that citizens have to go through a lot of disappointment to return to a country they call home, because they have less to offer the government. There are people who have lost a family member and can’t attend the funeral because they can’t get a seat on a plane to any states in Australia. Some are bouncing from country to country so they don’t overstay their visa.

I feel like this is a discrimination that Australians would never have to face. I grew up being treated differently because I am Asian. The first I can remember was when I was in high school, walking back to my homeroom after an assembly. A year 7 boy, “go back your country, you gook!” I was shocked but let it pass. The next ones were when I waited for a bus at Pacific Fair or walked home from Robina Town Centre. I would get some random drivers shouted “suckie suckie, 5 dollars?” Those never got me down. But now, with what is happening today, I never felt more rejected.

Like I said in one of my post, I feel like I have suffered from depression. I am glad I have my husband with me during this weird time. He understands that I am in a funk and doesn’t try to push me to get out of it until I am ready. Having a blog is also his suggestion. He believes writing would help me climb out of the rabbit hole and he isn’t wrong. As I share what I am feeling, the frustration, the choking feeling I felt as I held back the tears start to go away. I am feeling a lot lighter.

I don’t know what the purpose of COVID is, but I know it is not good for a lot of people’s mental health. I still believe it is not as terrible as it has been reported. I want things to be better so that we can do what we want, when we want to and at the place we have chosen to be.

What a let down

Today, the article on Tom Hanks visiting Australia for his movie, avoiding the mandatory 14 days quarantine gained attention again in one of the Aussie expat Facebook group. It really annoys the living day lights out of me. This is the actor who had Corona virus already and has been given permission to enter Australia despite the international arrival cap that prevented many of us from returning to the land we call home.

A lot of Australian expats are struggling to go home. This week, I read an article on how DFAT employees in Canberra are accused of booking 2 to 3 tickets (paid in full) for overseas DFAT workers. You can read the full article here. It might not be true, but no one is denying it and it makes the current government looks like they are as competent as my Year 3 students. No wait, my Year 3 students can do what is expected of them.

When the Prime Minister issued advice, recommending Aussie expats to come home, it also stated that the national carrier (Qantas) will maintain its operation on both international and domestic routes. Not the case! Australians overseas have to rely on Emirates, Qatar, China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Air and Cathay Pacific to take them home.

A lot disappointment is also directed towards the Australian consular abroad. I emailed them to ask for assistance regarding my expired work visa and they sent me links that provided me with little information regarding my situation. In hindsight, they probably have very little knowledge of what to do despite their ongoing discussions about changes that affect foreigners in Malaysia.

If one day, the government released a statement saying “we got through Covid-19 together” or “humanity helped us overcome the hardship caused by the pandemic” I call bullshit on that. From where I am sitting right now, the government has done very little to help Aussie expats. If anything, they have done really well in dividing the nation. Those who believes that Aussie expats should stay out of Australia and those who want them to come home.

Not all of us are living the life of Tom Hanks. I was going to come home and retire from living abroad. Sadly, that is not going to happen anytime soon. My husband and I can’t continue to survive on what savings we have while hoping that the ticket we have bought is the one that will take us home. I have accepted that reality and it is a downer.

I am not looking forward to my next call with my parents. They were so excited that we are finally going to start living in Australia. But, we need to do what we need to do to survive. For us, this is it. Taking another job offer until the day we can come home without worrying whether or not we made the cap.

When will it get better

Today we received an email from Cathay to let us know that our flight from HongKong to Brisbane has been cancelled. Went to manage booking on their website and I found that our flight from KL to HongKong is still going… Not sure how or if we will be able to get refunded for the whole segment, not just the HongKong to Brisbane. *heavy sigh*

The dog’s flight for 11 September is also cancelled…. so third time is not a charm in this case. Malaysia Airlines are not flying much these days so our pet relocator has booked a flight with Royal Brunei for 2 October. Our hopes are securely grounded until she is in the cargo area waiting to be loaded onto the plane.

In the meantime, my future employer is trying to get me a new work visa. They have asked me to go to their Subang campus to pick up my work contract. I might go on Thursday, as it will give me a chance to see what their school looks like. We have also decided to do some tutoring for our old students who are currently suffering at the hands of egotistical teachers. Mine is starting tomorrow while hubby’s on Saturday. I guess this would somehow take our mind of flights and cancellation.