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Travel bubble limbo: Frustrated wives forced to draw out longing of family reunion
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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Passengers arrive at Changi Airport under Singapore’s expanded Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) quarantine-free travel scheme, as the city-state opens its borders to more countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Singapore, on Oct. 20, 2021. (Reuters/Reuters)
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 area, on the northern tip of Batam, which lies within the travel bubble area Indonesia had set up.
“At least that was our plan,” said Tinda, as she is known among friends and family.
Under the arrangement, fully vaccinated Singaporeans can enter the travel bubble areas without having to be quarantined, so long as they meet certain requirements, which includes having health insurance with coverage of at least S$30,000 (US$22,284).
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.
