Eight months on, family still separated
Many families in Malaysia and worldwide are currently experiencing significant anxiety as a result of various measures implemented to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, and those affected by prolonged separation are most vulnerable to emotional distress.
KOTA KINABALU: Many families are currently experiencing significant anxiety linked to Covid-19.
In Malaysia, hundreds of families are exposed to emotional trauma from separation.
Raznawati Durin, is one of these families of Sabahans married to foreign spouses.
“I am a mother of three girls and it is just heartbreaking to see the kids missing their dad badly. It has been eight months now. It's been a nightmare to have to go through this with them.
“I have been married to Alexander Templeton, a British national. We stayed in the United Kingdom (UK) before deciding to return home in October 2018.
“My husband has been visiting every two to three months with his last visit in March. He had to return to the UK that same month due to work commitments.
“For the past eight months not seeing their dad, the kids are having a hard time especially my five-year-old, who always cries, asking me when is her dad coming home,” said Raznawati, a stay-at-home mother.
Having some anxiety problem, Raznawati said she is lucky to have her relatives here, at least, to help her through the separation.
According to her, they had been planning for her husband to emigrate to Malaysia to join them permanently this month.
However, due to the pandemic, her husband is unable to return as he does not hold a Long Term Social Visit Pass (LTSVP) and he is a citizen of a restricted country as per Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia announcement on Sept 4.
“We have been applying for him to return since August without a response. We were pleased that Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia introduced a new system to manage applications to enter Malaysia as it seemed that this would address some of our concerns about the previous process.
“Having submitted our application on the Oct 6, we waited for a response and five days later we received one. Unfortunately he had been rejected with the train listed as '23 banned countries' which, although disappointing, was expected.
“However, since receiving this rejection, we have become aware of a number of applicants who have gained approval despite not being married to their Malaysian partner and being from banned countries. This is not fair to us, who are married, with children,” she said.
Raznawati felt hopeless with the immigration policy, especially when it also permits foreign maids from banned countries to enter.
She questioned why unfair policies like that had been implemented, where both noncitizens and unmarried couples are prioritised, while citizen children and spouses are made to suffer by being kept apart from their parents.
Reading many documented cases of suicide related to family separation during the pandemic, Raznawati is hoping it will not happen to them.
She has been trying to contact Members of the Parliament from Sabah through their social media, hoping her family's voices are heard, and channelled to the relevant parties.
As of yesterday, she did not receive any response.
“We are desperately seeking for help to resolve this injustice hoping the government would make reuniting families a priority,” she said.