Diabetic social worker stranded in Caribbean
ACTON RESIDENT HAD FLOWN TO GRENADA FOR A FAMILY FUNERAL IN MARCH
AN Ealing social worker who has been stranded in Grenada for nine weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic is making a desperate call to the UK government to bring her and “hundreds” of others on the island home.
Glenna George, who lives in Acton, flew out to the Caribbean island for a family funeral in March, and was due to stay for two weeks before returning to her son and the young person she fosters on April 1.
Nearly nine weeks later the 61-year-old who suffers from diabetes has still been unable to get a flight home, with commercial flights booked with British Airways cancelled four times so far.
Repatriation flights back to the UK from Grenada have not been available so far during the crisis, but the Foreign Office said it is “finalising plans” to do so.
Glenna says her and other British nationals stuck in Grenada have been asked by the Foreign Office to register for repatriation which has been “absolutely chaotic”, and have been given “generic answers” about washing hands and letting family know you are safe.
In a video, Glenna said: “We have people aged from a 94-year-old to a one-year-old. You have people who have medical conditions who are terrified of getting sick here.
“Personally I’m diabetic and I’ve now spent over £100 getting my medication because I only came here for two weeks for a family funeral.
“It is disheartening to see reports of flights taking off from Jamaica and Barbados and Guyana and people being repatriated from New Zealand. It just smacks of the UK has not learnt anything from the Windrush situation. Once again the descendants of people from the Windrush are being forgotten.
“It is a hard pill to swallow when you are at the bottom of an unequal line. All we want to do is get home, all we want is a straight answer to when are you getting us home?”
The mother said her life has been turned “upside down” from the crisis and due to her extended absence her foster young person has had to leave the family home.
Continuing to work as a social worker for Ealing Council abroad, Glenna is having to start work at 5.30am to keep up with UK time. She said she is trying everything to find a way home.
While the idea of being stuck on a sunny, beautiful island may be appealing to some, Glenna stresses “it is not my home”.
Grenada imposed a strict lockdown in response to the global pandemic, including curfews and a seven-day full lockdown where not even essential shops such as supermarkets were open.
“There was nothing open at all. Whatever we had we had to make do with for seven days,” Glenna said.
On shops re-opening, the 61-yearold stood in intense heat for twoand-a-half hours queuing in a supermarket car park before giving up and going home.
The island is also not allowing passengers to arrive in the country, but in correspondence with the Grenada’s High Commissioner to the UK, Kisha Abba Grant, over air travel, she said the decision for people to leave Grenada lies with airlines.
“As far as we have been informed across the world, the airlines have cancelled the rest of their UK flights for now.
“We have no control over that,” she said.
A British Airways spokesperson said on rescheduling flights from the island that it is a “fast moving situation” and customers are recommended to check the latest flight information on their website ba. com.
Glenna says flights from Germany and Canada have arrived on the island to pick up its nationals and questions why the UK has been unable to do the same.
“There are so many people here that are just desperate to get home and I think as British nationals we deserve our government to try and get us home as soon as possible,” Glenna added.