Barry and Beth's Relief Fund
Donation protected
Barry and Beth, an elderly couple from Bradford, aged 72 and 63 respectively, are currently stuck in India due to Covid-19 and are desperate to return to Bradford. They have been poorly treated by the Indian authorities and have received little help from the British consulate. Barry and Beth should have been back in England on the 19th March, but now have no idea how or when they will be allowed to come home. They are not in the best of health, their money is running out, even food is a problem, and they feel helpless and afraid.
The origin of their troubles was a delayed flight which resulted in a missed connection in Mumbai. There are no facilities in Mumbai airport to rebook flights – all such transactions need to be arranged on the internet, but at their age and not being adept at using the internet this proved impossible.
When I met Barry and Beth, they had been stranded in Mumbai Airport for two days already and were already very worried. I managed to help them by booking them a flight back to the UK, on one of the last flights to leave Mumbai before the cessation of international flights out of India. However, unbeknownst to them, their visas had expired during the delay. The minute the Indian authorities discovered that their visas were no longer valid they were refused permission to board the flight, were ushered very quickly out of their wheelchairs and dumped on a road outside the terminal.
Despite being elderly and not in the best of health, having no real idea of what was going on, they were nevertheless able to beg their way back into the airport.
The British Foreign Office was contacted, but the only advice they gave was to get relatives to send them money (which neither they nor their relatives have) and to follow local government advice, which was non-existent amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Barry and Beth managed the next day to get out of Mumbai and to Goa where they are now stuck till international flights resume, or the UK government gets them out.
Meanwhile, they are burning through their savings, paying for unplanned accommodation and sharing one meal a day between the two of them.
Update 16/04/2020 Thanks to the national media coverage today they have been contacted by the foreign office and have a flight out on the 18/04. They are now also having someone based in Goa togive them food and medical supplies for their journey. I want to thank everyone for their help. All the donations thus far have been greatly appreciated and I thank you all! 22/04 they have now arrived safely in the uk
The origin of their troubles was a delayed flight which resulted in a missed connection in Mumbai. There are no facilities in Mumbai airport to rebook flights – all such transactions need to be arranged on the internet, but at their age and not being adept at using the internet this proved impossible.
When I met Barry and Beth, they had been stranded in Mumbai Airport for two days already and were already very worried. I managed to help them by booking them a flight back to the UK, on one of the last flights to leave Mumbai before the cessation of international flights out of India. However, unbeknownst to them, their visas had expired during the delay. The minute the Indian authorities discovered that their visas were no longer valid they were refused permission to board the flight, were ushered very quickly out of their wheelchairs and dumped on a road outside the terminal.
Despite being elderly and not in the best of health, having no real idea of what was going on, they were nevertheless able to beg their way back into the airport.
The British Foreign Office was contacted, but the only advice they gave was to get relatives to send them money (which neither they nor their relatives have) and to follow local government advice, which was non-existent amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Barry and Beth managed the next day to get out of Mumbai and to Goa where they are now stuck till international flights resume, or the UK government gets them out.
Meanwhile, they are burning through their savings, paying for unplanned accommodation and sharing one meal a day between the two of them.
Update 16/04/2020 Thanks to the national media coverage today they have been contacted by the foreign office and have a flight out on the 18/04. They are now also having someone based in Goa togive them food and medical supplies for their journey. I want to thank everyone for their help. All the donations thus far have been greatly appreciated and I thank you all! 22/04 they have now arrived safely in the uk
Organizer
Michael Ita
Organizer
