Grovedale-based student Varun Hariprakash can only watch and hope as his mother and sister recover from COVID-19 amid the worsening pandemic in his home country.
“The first time they told me they had it, I pretty much broke down,” the 31-year-old master of architecture student from Bangalore said.
“My mum is asthmatic, so it’s very dangerous for her. It was heartbreaking not being able to be there in person.”
Mr Hariprakash sent money from his savings to his mother and sister, his only immediate family, and regularly makes video calls to check up on them.
His sister has anaemia, making her vulnerable too. But thankfully, more than a fortnight after contracting COVID-19, they appear to be recovering.
“I’ve made sure they’ll be at home and people come to help them, rather than they go to hospital,” he said.
Mr Hariprakash’s story is just one of many among Geelong’s several thousand Indian-Australians, and several thousand more international students from the COVID-plagued country.
“One of our members lost his father in December,” Indian Association of Geelong spokesperson Mandeep Singh said.
“Last Saturday he just got a call that his father-in-law had died from COVID too. He went into hospital with COVID-19 and didn’t come out.”
Mr Singh fears for his own parents still living in Punjab.
“I’m telling them to be safe and to keep themselves isolated,” he said.
“The situation is quite tense and they are worried.
“But they’re doing alright – they’re both working from home.”
Some Geelong residents have family members among the 9000 Australian citizens and permanent residents trapped in India.
Davinder Singh (not related to Mandeep) last week told the Independent about his wife and five-year-old son, unable to come to Australia despite been granted a permanent residency and citizenship late last year.
After delivering 30,000 meals across Geelong to those in need during Victoria’s lockdowns, the local Sikh and Indian communities are now raising funds for those trapped in India.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that government chartered repatriation flights from India to the Howard Springs quarantine centre in the Northern Territory were scheduled to resume tomorrow.
Indian Association of Geelong met with Corangamite MP Libby Coker this week, and the group plans to send urgently-needed oxygen and medical supplies to India.
The fundraiser comes as India recorded a new record 24-hour death toll of 4205 on Wednesday, with the total COVID-19 fatalities surpassing 250,000.
For information on donating email: indianassocianofgeelong@gmail.com
