Vile Parle family, including two elderly parents, returns home after 85 days in Turkey, where they had gone for a vacation but got stuck due to the pandemic
The Jain family during their trip to Turkey. They returned to India on a Vande Bharat flight from Istanbul on June 9
When the family of seven left Mumbai on March 13 for a vacation in Turkey, little did they know that the novel Coronavirus will strengthen its grip on the world and they will be forced to spend nearly three months on a foreign land.
Their yearning for home was finally fulfilled on Tuesday night, when they arrived in the city after being repatriated on the first Vande Bharat flight from Istanbul to New Delhi.
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mid-day had, on May 15, reported about the Jain family-s struggle while being stuck in Turkey. Amit Jain, 50, his wife Chhaya Jain, their three children, and his 70-year-old mother and 80-year-old father finally landed in New Delhi late on Tuesday, a day after boarding the flight. They reached their Vile Parle home at midnight on Tuesday.
The family is now under a 14-day home quarantine, in accordance with the national guidelines on the novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Amit, a Chartered Accountant, told mid-day that his primary concern while stuck on a foreign land for the past 85 days was the health of his parents, both of whom have multiple health issues. "It-s a huge relief to be back home," he said.
"If someone falls sick in a foreign country or develops health complications, it can get very difficult to get them treated because the doctors don-t know my parents- medical history. My mother was having nervous breakdowns due to being away from home for so long and was having severe anxiety as the day went by. But now she is extremely relieved."
Amit said in the third week of May he received a call from the Indian Embassy in Istanbul, and was informed that they would be flying to India on June 8.
"When we had a meeting with them [Embassy], we were told that Indians were stranded in over 160 countries and in some places, the situation was even worse. We understood that the government had to prioritise [the repatriation] and the best thing we could do was to be patient."
Amit, who represents the Vadrhman Sanskaar Dham that does various social and welfare work, said the Indian community stranded in Turkey was the backbone and pillar of strength for each other.
"It was quite amazing how everyone did their best to help each other, even financially. When you-re stuck for a long and indefinite time in another country, you have to plan out each day…this experience has also taught all of us to be more financially prudent."
On Tuesday, 176 passengers, including the Jain family, returned to India from Istanbul.
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