ABC podcast: Australians stranded overseas

[pn1]

A recent ABC podcasts entitled "Stranded Australians" was very interesting:

Meet the stranded Australians - ABC listen

No home, no flight, dwindling medical supplies and a depleted bank account. Today, we're following two of the many thousands of Australians currently stranded overseas. Affordable flights home are still vanishingly rare, with a strict cap on international arrivals, so the quarantine system...

www.abc.net.au

Worth a listen?

 

[p--and--t]

A recent ABC podcasts entitled "Stranded Australians" was very interesting:

Meet the stranded Australians - ABC listen

No home, no flight, dwindling medical supplies and a depleted bank account. Today, we're following two of the many thousands of Australians currently stranded overseas. Affordable flights home are still vanishingly rare, with a strict cap on international arrivals, so the quarantine system...

www.abc.net.au

Worth a listen?

I wonder why nearly all the media reports on "stranded aussies" almost exclusively focus on white Caucasians? No bias?

 

[dajop]

I wonder why nearly all the media reports on "stranded aussies" almost exclusively focus on white Caucasians? No bias?

Presumably to better manipulate feelings.

i.e. to try and generate sympathy in the populace,which after all is still what 75%+ caucausian, would you show someone clearly of Indian origin (even though speaking in strong Australian accent) being stranded in India, or a caucasian stranded in country XYZ. The former probably wouldn't generate the same feelings of them being "helplessly" stranded. Maybe if they were of Indian origin, but stranded in Peru or Poland, it may generate more sympathy though, but I'm guessing these people would be more difficult to find.

Either that or white caucasians take to social media more to complain about the predicament.

 

[Mattg]

I know of quite a few young Australians in quite desperate situations due to the border closures. In some cases, it's quite dire. Many have had multiple flights cancelled on them.

I know at least one person in the Netherlands who was on a working holiday but has now run out of money and can't get home. They recently posted on Facebook asking if anyone had a spare couch they could sleep on. No access to Australian welfare as they are not physically in Australia currently, and they have no prospect of booking a new flight home until November.

 

[dajop]

I know of quite a few young Australians in quite desperate situations due to the border closures. In some cases, it's quite dire. Many have had multiple flights cancelled on them.

I know at least one person in the Netherlands who was on a working holiday but has now run out of money and can't get home. They recently posted on Facebook asking if anyone had a spare couch they could sleep on. No access to Australian welfare as they are not physically in Australia currently, and they have no prospect of booking a new flight home until November.

The government is now offering emergency loans to people in such desperate situations, and I will withhold my opinion on this, other than suggesting they are doing this as a political response, perhaps instead of the more difficult task of finding a proper solution to enable people to come home:

Government announces financial support for Australians stranded overseas

Huge numbers of Australians are unable to come home because of the scarcity of flights, rapidly rising ticket prices, the cost of quarantine in Australia and a cap on arrivals.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Pushka]

I wonder why nearly all the media reports on "stranded aussies" almost exclusively focus on white Caucasians? No bias?

Because many on social platforms are suggesting that the only arrivals now are dual citizens from particular sub continents and are abusing the system of return because they feel they can no longer safely stay in their birth or desired country. So the ones complaining about arrivals now are the ones being racist.

 

[Mattg]

I will withhold my opinion on this, other than suggesting they are doing this as a political response, perhaps instead of the more difficult task of finding a proper solution to enable people to come home:

Government announces financial support for Australians stranded overseas

Huge numbers of Australians are unable to come home because of the scarcity of flights, rapidly rising ticket prices, the cost of quarantine in Australia and a cap on arrivals.

www.abc.net.au

I tend to agree. Offering loans (which are repayable when people get back to Australia) doesn't solve the fundamental problem. If somebody currently has no money and is stuck overseas, how are they going to be in a position to repay a loan (for expenses they shouldn't have needed to incur in the first place if they could've got back now) when they get here?