Fiji Sun

Prasad grateful to be home

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AFijian national, Vineet Prasad is grateful to be back with his family, after being stranded in Bulgaria amidst the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr Prasad was one of many Fijians who had been assisted by the Fijian Government through repatriati­on flights.

In January, Mr Prasad travelled to Bulgaria under the ERASMUS+ internatio­nal exchange programme to conduct research for his Masters’ thesis.

Unfortunat­ely, his plans to return home in May were disrupted when the borders closed. Thankfully, Mr Prasad was able to board a repatriati­on flight from New Zealand to Fiji on May 19th, 2020.

He said this was made possible through the timely support provided by the Fijian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that ultimately assisted him to make informed decision on his travel plans.

“I was promptly assisted by the Fijian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with my travel plan from Sofia to New Zealand and ultimately leading to boarding the repatriati­on flight home,” Mr Prasad said. Mr Prasad is happy to be home and will now be able to pursue further studies and career at a tertiary institutio­n in Fiji.

“A very sincere vinaka vakalevu to the Fijian Government and all relevant authoritie­s for their repatriati­on efforts,” he said.

“With my experience of being stranded in a foreign country during this pandemic, I can indeed say that there is no place like home.

“I sincerely hope the Government continues these efforts so that more nationals can return safely to Fiji and more families can be reunited,” Mr Prasad said.

He is urging those Fijian nationals wanting to return home to get in touch with Fijian MFA to seek further assistance.

The Fijian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is at the forefront in terms of coordinati­ng chartered flights for repatriati­on by working together with diplomatic partners. MFA also communicat­es vital informatio­n on repatriati­on flights to our nationals, assisting with arrangemen­ts on travel and accommodat­ion, updates on health and travel advisories, protocol and visa arrangemen­ts, travel support letters to name a few.

 ??  ?? Vineet Prasad with his niece and nephew upon returning to Fiji in May this year.
Vineet Prasad with his niece and nephew upon returning to Fiji in May this year.

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