Part 4 of our series: What I'm Grateful For From 2020
A mercy dash in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic left PhD student Humayun Kabir stuck in Bangladesh for months this year. Happily, he is now home and grateful to be reunited with his family.
Back in April, with COVID-19 infection rates and deaths mounting, Humayun made the difficult decision to fly home to Bangladesh to visit his ill mother. It would mean leaving his wife Syadani Riyad Fatema and young son Aravi in Armidale, but it was intended to just be a 6-week-long visit.
Then the world changed forever.
Australian Government health officials grounded many international flights and the entry of returning travellers. It would be several months before Humayun could return to Armidale - on 22 November - and only then after being granted a humanitarian visa, securing a coveted seat on an expensive flight, and 14 days of mandatory quarantine in a Sydney hotel.
"Flights from Bangladesh to Australia were irregular and passenger numbers limited," Humayun said. "My original return ticket was reissued for 7 November, at an additional cost of $2500, but then cancelled one week before I was due to fly. I was then told I wouldn't be able to return until January, but managed to get another ticket, at a cost of $5000 in business class.
"I cannot explain how stressful this time has been. It's not about the money but the psychological strain on me and my family."
But, through it all, Humayun has managed to write two research papers on the ugly side of the Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry and to maintain regular contact with his supervisors, whom he can't praise highly enough.
"My supervisory team has supported me extraordinarily during this time; I am so blessed to have Professor Myf Maple as my principal supervisor and Professor Kim Usher and Dr Md Shahidul Islam as my co-supervisors," he said. "They have been excellent."
Also in this series:
- Part 1: 'I won't go back to what I was doing before'
- Part 2: 'My workmates gave me strength when I was on my knees'
- Part 3: A new appreciation of the essentials - the people around us
- Part 5: Adventure vs the quiet life: Lifelong traveller ‘lucky in lockdown’
- Part 6: Regional life: A gift in the year of lockdown
- Part 7: Meditation, exercise, family ... and wi-fi
- Part 8: 'My optimism has surprised even me'
