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View all search resultsMixed families separated by travel restrictions
Many Indonesians wedded to Singaporeans have had to make tough decisions during the pandemic, and not all are able to bear the high cost of travel.
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J
ust last week, 31-year-old Artinda was still smiling from ear to ear at the thought of finally reuniting with her Singaporean husband, Mohammad Shahrin, 51, who she and her toddler had not seen for nearly two years because of the pandemic border closures.
Their plan was to meet in the middle, with Shahrin due to fly out to Batam in Riau Islands to take advantage of the recently announced limited travel bubble arrangement between the outlying province and neighboring Singapore.
They contrived to meet in the Nongsa Beach area, on the northern tip of Batam, close to the site of the Nongsa Digital Park Special Economic Zone that Indonesia and Singapore are currently working on.
“At least that was our plan,” said Tinda, as she is known among friends and family.
As a father, Shahrin felt strong emotions just at the thought of meeting his daughter. It would have been the first time that he was able to see her in person, having missed her birth some 19 months before because of the prevailing COVID-19 curbs.
Tinda had high hopes after hearing whispers of a potential announcement on the travel bubble arrangement ahead of the meeting between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Bintan on Jan. 25.
Her husband, who has been stuck in Singapore with few options to make the journey to Batam, had coughed up some Rp 1 billion (US$69,000) to cover insurance expenses, one of the many requirements for travel.
