Cyprus Mail 1 April 2020 - by Jonathan Shkurko
A group of around 70 British nationals permanently residing in Cyprus, mostly in their 70s, are currently stuck in the UK waiting to be repatriated after their cruise in the Caribbean was abruptly stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Despite not being Cypriot citizens, all of them have been living in Cyprus for several years and are trying to get back to the island.
However, with hundreds of requests from Cypriot citizens waiting to be brought back to the island, they are now in a bizarre situation as they are currently stranded in a place most have not called home for years.
“We were on a cruise line tour of the Caribbean organised by travel giant TUI, when we were informed that, due to the worldwide spread of the virus, we had to return to the UK, from where we started our trip,” Helen, a passenger on the cruise, told the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday.
She has been a permanent resident of Cyprus since 2013 and currently lives in Oroklini in the Larnaca district.
“Me and my family have been regularly coming to Cyprus for the past 30 years, it’s our country and our home. That’s why I am desperate to come home, just like all other permanent residents who were on the same trip as me,” she said.
Helen said TUI informed all people on the ship who are living in Cyprus, they were going to be repatriated on March 21, only a day after the cruise returned to the UK.
“So TUI put us all up in a hotel for the night between March 20 and 21, only for the following day to tell us that there weren’t any available flights to take us back to Cyprus and to get in touch with the Cyprus High Commission.
“They practically dumped us in London and told us to seek our own solution,” she said.
Helen said most people waiting to fly back are elderly and surely fall into the category of vulnerable people that are more at risk during the Covid-19 crisis.
She is now in Lancashire, where her daughter lives and waiting for the situation to change so she can fly back.
“To be honest, I’m one the lucky ones,” she said. “My daughter is still here, and I have a place to stay. But the majority of us who were on the cruise have been living in Cyprus for so long that they have no one else to help them in the UK, so they were forced to find a hotel where they would stay for the time being, which, of course, came at a very high cost.
TUI will only compensate 50 per cent of the trip’s cost, “which is fine for people who live in the UK, but for us Cypriot residents, this is an issue, we are running out of money,” Helen said.
When she contacted the Cyprus High Commission in London, she was told to wait, as they are currently trying to bring back Cypriot citizens first, mostly students, stuck in the UK.
“I understand, they too need to be repatriated. But, even if we are not Cypriot nationals, we also call Cyprus home. And, on top of that, most of us are elderly, some are alone and frankly scared to be forgotten.
“It’s not a matter of wanting to come back, it’s more that we actually need to come back,” she said.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry is operating a hotline to help Cypriots currently stuck abroad. However, due to the high volume of calls for help, they do not have a plan laid out for permanent residents of Cyprus who want to come back.
“The best advice we can give them is to seek the help of the High Commission in the UK for the moment,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail.
They can get in touch with them by calling 0044 207 3214 100 or by sending an email to cyprusinuk@mfa.gov.cy with their names and their yellow slip certifying they are permanent residents of Cyprus.
He said priority will be given to people with certified medical conditions.
“I can understand how these people feel,” the spokesperson said. “But I want to assure them they will not be left alone. We are just asking for some patience as we are trying to deal with a situation we never had to face before.”
