Being miles away from loved ones is already difficult, but wondering when we will able to visit them and the inability to travel is even more so. Anne Rajoo is a German expat who lives in Mauritius with her Mauritian husband. Even though she didn't have any travel plans during the lockdown, she was still looking to travel to Germany in August 2020. However, the extended border closure disrupted everything.
Anne wanted to visit her grandparents. “Unfortunate, my grandma passed away in the meantime. I initially wanted to visit her due to her poor health. My dad also wanted to join us in Mauritius, but he had to cancel his plans too", she says. The food shortage due to the rush to supermarkets was another serious issue for Anne who has two young children. Baby milk became scarce during the lockdown.
“For a while, I was really stressed about not being able to find my baby's milk. Also, it was hard to find fresh produce in the beginning". Anne, who lives in a coastal village in the north of the island, talks about another challenge -- homeschooling her elder child during the lockdown as schools were closed. She had not only to take care of the house but also to work from home. Still, Anne believes that this ordeal helped to strengthen their family ties. “It was a unique opportunity to play with the children and to spend some quality time together,” she says.
Nisha Hassamal, an Indian expat who is married to a Mauritian, was locked down with her in-laws -- which for her was a very good thing. “I was a little scared in the beginning because most of the products consumed in Mauritius are imported. Luckily, the lockdown prompted providers to go digital and to offer home delivery services".
Like Anne, Nisha Hassamal also had to cancel a trip that she was supposed to take on the eve of the lockdown. “I was ready to take my flight, but I suddenly decided that it would be a better idea to wait. Unfortunately, I haven't seen my parents since then, and that's quite hard. But I would have them to come to Mauritius rather than go to India where it's even more risky, "says Nisha Hassamal.
Maria, a Colombian expat, and her German husband Eric Guerra live in Mauritius since May 2018. She is a trailing spouse who is also the mom of a 3-year-old girl. For Maria, the lockdown was a particularly challenging experience as they don't have any family in Mauritius. “It's the kind of situation that you have to accept as there's nothing you could have changed. Ultimately, our only choice was to get the most of it. The hardest part was to do everything at home without any help. My husband worked from home and used to finish quite late, ”she says.
However, Maria believes that she was lucky to be in Mauritius during the pandemic. “We had planned to go on a safari in Africa with our daughter to create memories, and to visit my in-laws. Our friends, who we were expecting at the end of the year, also had to cancel their plans". But she admits that her neighbours, and a Mauritian family her husband was familiar with, never let them feel isolated. “We were able to rely on their support although we were far from our loved ones,” she adds.
For Rushda, a South African expat who is also a trailing spouse with two children, things weren't that easy. Her husband, who is also South African, works in Mauritius. Rushda, who lives in the north of the island, was on a trip in South Africa just before the lockdown. “I managed to take the last flight from Durban to Mauritius. We were supposed to come back a few days earlier, but my kids and I were sick. But I couldn't imagine being stranded in South Africa without my husband. Once in Mauritius, I was so happy to see him again, but his behaviour had quite changed, ”she says.
For this young mum, the lockdown was quite a revelation. Since then, her life has changed, but she decided to be strong for her two children. “I would still rather live here than in South Africa because of the pandemic. Currently, things are worse in my home country. We are safe here, and we're free to move. So I don't really have a choice, I have to think about my two children”, she says.
