The article has been automatically translated into English by Google Translate from Russian and has not been edited.

'We never parted before the coronavirus': how families live who were separated by a pandemic

'30.04.2020'

Source: Present Tense

Closing borders, canceling flights and shutting down consulates - these measures, introduced by many countries to combat the spread of COVID-19, have separated more than one family. Someone who was caught on a trip by a pandemic is now trying to reunite with loved ones by any means, others immediately decided to survive the virus separately so as not to expose themselves to the additional risks associated with travel. “Present Time” spoke with three couples temporarily in different countries and found out how separation affected their relationship.

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"We have Skype turned on all day"

“When we parted, we thought it was only for a couple of weeks, but in the end, due to the virus, we have been living apart for two months. So much time has passed, and I still have tears in my eyes, ”says Ekaterina (name changed at the request of the heroine - HB), who has been living with her parents in Odessa since February, while her husband Denis stayed in Warsaw.

The couple left for Poland at the end of 2019, when Denis got a job at an IT company. For the move, says Ekaterina, they did not prepare, everything turned out quite spontaneously. While still in Ukraine, her husband completed all the necessary documents, while Ekaterina planned to take care of her own in a few months: “I wanted to settle down a little at first,” she says.

Ekaterina entered Poland on a Ukrainian biometric passport, the owners of which can stay without a visa in the territory of the Schengen countries for three months.

At this time, says Catherine, she began to prepare documents for a Polish work visa, however, in order to get it, she had to return to Ukraine. The couple tried to apply without leaving the country, but they were told that there was no such opportunity for tourists.

“I remember we were still joking, looking for advantages in this, we said that we would have time to get bored a little. If I knew that it would turn out like this, I can't imagine with what emotions I would leave, ”says Ekaterina.

Returning to Odessa, the girl paid for the services of the visa center and managed to sign up for the submission of documents. Then, she says, there was no talk that this or that country would completely close the entrance for foreigners. She did not take the information about the sharp increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Europe seriously, she thought that she would "in any case be able to slip through."

Poland closed all ground checkpoints on its border since March 15, two days later, Ukraine completely stopped international air traffic, as well as regular passenger road and rail transportation. Restrictions were introduced for several weeks, but were constantly extended.

Before the borders were closed, Catherine managed to apply for a visa, but the status of their processing, which can be checked online, has never changed. It is not yet possible to get any information from the girl’s visa center. All consular offices in Ukraine are closed, no movement is expected for visa applicants in the near future, she complains.

The family is now “living in video communication,” says Ekaterina. It helps a little to get over the breakup.

“My husband is now working from home, and we have Skype on all day. This creates the illusion of presence, ”she says.

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"After the wedding, we never parted"

Tatyana Hotlubey and her husband Vadim are from Donetsk. In 2017, they moved to Prague. Tatyana is a wedding and family photographer, Vadim is a quality control engineer at a large international IT company.

The family had permission for a long-term stay in the Czech Republic: Vadim received it because he had a permanent job, Tatyana - through reunification with his family. Shortly before the epidemic in Europe, she says, Vadim changed his job, and he had to fill out documents again.

“My right to stay completely depended on him, and I was waiting for his documents to be approved,” says Tatiana. Due to bureaucratic delays, her husband's permit was renewed only three months after filing, by that time Tatyana's visa had already come to an end.

The Czech authorities advised her to go to Ukraine and apply for reunion with her family through the consulate. To do the same without leaving the country was impossible due to the fact that the deadlines were missed.

“I followed the recommendations, and then the coronavirus burst into our lives - of people who have never parted since the wedding. The Czech Republic closed the entry for all foreigners without a residence permit and stopped issuing visas, ”says Tatiana. This happened on March 16.

Now Tatyana lives with her friends in a small village near Kiev.

“Rural life, it is different,” she says and adds that another nuance in their situation is her pregnancy.

Even before leaving, Tatiana found out that she was pregnant, she was observed in a Czech clinic, where she was also issued a “pregnant card”. Now she and her husband are trying to find out if it is possible to enter the Czech Republic for a person who has a contract and an already issued card. But, apparently, the Czech authorities themselves do not know the answer to this question. The family is “chased to the authorities” and cannot say anything concrete.

“I am ready to cross the border by car. Austria and Hungary gave us written consent for overland transit, ”she says.

Recently, the Czech authorities have somewhat weakened the quarantine regime within the country and allowed their citizens to go abroad with the condition of mandatory self-isolation after returning. Tatiana hopes that in the near future liberalization of the border regime will affect people like her.

“This is not at all what I was drawing in my head: I had to be with my family, in my house in Prague, where there is already a crib, where baby clothes have already been bought. And in the end, I found myself without all the things, without a home and without a certainty about the future. Roughly speaking, with a bare ass, ”concludes Tatiana.

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"You take such stories philosophically"

“I believe that we are not in the worst situation,” Grigory Shestopalov begins his story. “My wife is now in Kharkiv, in her apartment, she lives and works remotely, and someone is left without a roof over his head and without a livelihood.”

Gregory and his wife Maya are natives of Kharkov, but have been living in Rome for many years. Gregory works as a driver in freight transport, Maya is a designer. They rarely go home, but in February Maya was forced to leave for Kharkov to register an inheritance.

This process, says Gregory, did not promise to be quick, but no one expected that he and his wife would have to leave for several months. Somewhere on the subconscious, our interlocutor continues, they thought that the situation with the epidemic could change, but usually such thoughts were joked.

Even before Italy closed its borders to foreigners, many countries reduced or completely canceled regular passenger services with it. This happened after a sharp outbreak of coronavirus infection, which made Italy the main focus of the spread of the virus in Western Europe.

After the closure of the borders, says Gregory, his wife had the opportunity to return, since she has a residence permit in Italy. Nevertheless, after a video conference, the family decided to wait out the “viral peaks” separately. There were several reasons for this at once: firstly, the lack of air communication and other direct transport, secondly, the increased risk of infection, and thirdly, the uncertain position of third countries.

“We first consulted how Maya would return, but there was only one option: to go by car. At a time when everyone was advised to stay at home, going on a long journey was a very bad idea. Then all over Europe there was a mess, no one knew anything. In some countries we were told that you can go in transit, in others you cannot, but all these conditions changed every two hours, ”Grigory recalls.

The man adds that he understands young, recently married people who are ready to take any risk to reunite with their family, however, “when you are over 50 and have already celebrated your silver wedding a long time ago, you take such stories philosophically.”

A few decades ago, adds Gregory, to experience parting was more difficult. He recalls how he went into the army and did not see Maya for about two years, while from communications there was only correspondence and very rare phone calls. Today, with a video connection, these breakups are not such a big problem.

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