Borders closed in the Philippines: families separated because of the pandemic
Audio 02:24
In Manila, people are waiting for the results of their Covid test to receive government transport assistance and return to their provinces.
Hundreds of people are stranded in the capital due to travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
(Illustration image: July 28, 2020) AP - Aaron Favila
6 min
By Manon Tomzig Since the outbreak began in March, the Philippines has closed its borders and suspended most inland links between its thousands of islands.
Expats and Filipinos then find themselves trapped for many months, and for many of them, far from their families.
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Glaiza is a housekeeper in a high-rise apartment building in Manila.
Sitting on the edge of her chair, she tells with a sad smile.
“
It's hard to be away from my baby.
I miss him, but I have no choice.
"
Like many Filipinos, the young woman left her home province to support her family.
But because of the epidemic, links between the country's many islands have been cut.
Glaiza was then separated from her baby, who remained in her home province, for more than seven months.
In her slender hands, she grips her phone.
“
I call my baby whenever I miss him.
But he doesn't listen to me, he just wants to play.
And sometimes the internet connection doesn't work there, so I watch videos of him that I saved in my phone.
His father sends me a video or a photo of him once a week.
"
With the closing of the borders, expatriates also find themselves paralyzed.
Pavan is 29 years old.
The last time he saw his wife was when they were married in India last January.
She was to meet him in the Philippines a few weeks later, but she was never able to make the trip.
“In
the seven months we were married, my wife and I have spent only seven days together.
"
In the apartment he chose for the start of their life together, he is already planning to introduce her to his new culinary talents.
In the meantime, their one-on-one takes place online.
“
To keep the fire going, we organize remote meetings on weekends.
We do things we love like a game night, watching a movie or a soccer match.
"
Anaïs and her husband are French.
They settled in the Philippines for professional reasons.
They have not seen their family since they moved a year and a half ago.
“
With Christmas approaching, it's an important time to get together as a family, it's true that it's a bit difficult to say that maybe we'll have to get stuck in Manila.
"
The young woman tries to stay positive.
But with the health situation which is deteriorating in France, the concern is necessarily there.
“
My parents are a little over 60 years old, I also have my two grandmothers who are over 90 years old.
Of course, what would be particularly horrible would be if someone in my family had Covid and had greater difficulties and that I could not even see them.
"
The Philippines remains closed to foreigners, but the government is starting to relax some travel measures.
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