The world is afraid, very afraid of COVID-19.
People cautiously remain in situ and wait. COVID-19 has resulted, however, in some people deciding to leave where they are living in the world in order to be homeland bound.
New Zealand
New Zealanders are returning to New Zealand. They want to get back to their homeland. The sheer volume of Kiwis wanting to return to the safe, COVID free Isles of (Paradise) New Zealand, is staggering. Despite the enormous disruption to air travel, 30,000 plus are flooding across the border. On top of that data from Stats NZ shows a further 9,000 people on other passports (most of them residents) have also arrived in the country. In comparison only 9,621 Kiwis departed the country. Such figures buck the trend.
The Hon Dr Megan Woods, MP, was appointed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to take control of the returning Kiwis, following many blunders and failures with the quarantine and isolation requirements. Dr David Clark, the previous Minister of Health, was completely out of his depth in this role. It was shocking that there were absconders, and many let loose into the community without being tested or before a negative test result had been received. Clark could not keep the New Zealand community safe from this virus, and the people of New Zealand were understandably very angry.
New Zealand saw Megan, in her interim position, take charge. She reduced the huge numbers of Kiwis flying into Mangere Airport.
Ms Woods told TVNZ1’s Breakfast this morning authorities have spoken to Emirates and Singapore Airlines, as well as Air New Zealand, about limiting the number of people in flights. She said the airlines had agreed to stop selling new tickets for flights to New Zealand from overseas the next three weeks.
She said it was about removing volatility in numbers of people coming to New Zealand to manage the in-and-out flows of those in managed isolation and quarantine.
“We’re getting really tight and we can’t just keep standing up facilities,” she said.
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Some New Zealanders were given priority and allowed to come home immediately. They were the lucky ones to find that their flight plans had not been messed up. Whether there was any rhyme or reason or not, others were not so fortunate. Their plans to fly home were disrupted and delayed. It is estimated that 1-million-plus New Zealanders live around the world and it is expected that many will still want to leave their home away from home in order to return to their homeland.
Megan, along with the NZ military and police, now guard the Kiwis securely in allocated lockdown hotels across the North and South Island of New Zealand for two weeks’ managed quarantine. Or so they thought! There are still absconders wandering around. One went to a supermarket and another one intentionally failing to comply with an order at his COVID-19 health response facility, broke out to buy alcohol, threw a tantrum and smashed up a hotel TV.
To understand this new trend of Kiwis returning from their OE (Overseas Experience) will take some time. There will be an impact on the current job, housing, and general infrastructure situation. There may be a positive for New Zealand’s economic growth as Kiwis are likely to be people with a high work ethic and broad world experience. New jobs will be created by this influx of entrepreneurial people. New houses will be built.
Israel
Another country that has seen many people return (or move to their homeland for the first time) from many places around the world, is Israel. According to the Israeli Interior Ministry’s Population and Immigration Authority, more and more Israelis who have been living abroad for a long time are returning to Israel, due to COVID-19. Some 550,000 Israelis returned in February and March 2020. About 15% of them (around 80,000 people) had spent an extended period abroad. That last group is growing, reaching more than 30% in April. There are post-military-service backpackers, but many are tech workers, academics, and businesspeople. There are pictures of Jews arriving on packed El Al and United Airline flights, coming off the aircraft, bending down to kiss the tarmac of Tel Aviv Airport of their homeland.
Ilana Levi is an Israeli who lived in Los Angeles at the end of March with her husband and their three children. She told Al-Monitor that most Israelis have mixed feelings about and a strong connection to Israel.
“This emotion appears especially during a time of crisis, wars or terror attacks or other major events. The difference this time was we saw the whole world challenged by a crisis, and it seemed Israel was coping better than most of the countries, even better than the large, rich United States. We felt proud, together with real concern about my own family. After a conversation with my mother in Israel, who is under isolation, we immediately decided to pack up our suitcases and go. During the packing up process we made the decision to return for good. My husband is a freelancer and will find a way to use his profession in Israel… “.
May 2020 there was another influx of people to Israel. Jews from Ukraine were able to make Aliyah (return of Jews to their homeland) to Tel Aviv. They came with few possessions and willingly entered quarantine for 14 days.
By the 6th of July 2020 there were also reports that Jews were also leaving New York, due both to Coronavirus and also the chaos and destruction of property by the Black Lives Matter criminal element.
Jews are aware that Israel is ‘coping’ well with the virus. The country is not COVID free but the Government Research Institute is directing all its efforts towards coronavirus research, including developing a treatment and a vaccine. The Haaretz Daily Newspaper, June 29, reports that blood of 200,000 people was tested for herd immunity. This was conducted by a Health Ministry team led by Professor Daniel Cohen, the acting head of Tel Aviv University School of Public Health.
During a visit to Israel last year, it was a delightful experience hearing the pride Israelis have in their homeland. New Zealanders are proud of their stunning geography. Talking to secular Jews, their pride is in what they have achieved as a nation in the last 72 years. Israel is expecting ¼ million people arriving by the end of the year. New Zealand and Israel have small populations of 5 and 8 million people. No wonder both Jews and Kiwis want to be Homeward Bound.
Israel and New Zealand’s numbers will increase substantially and COVID-19 was the catalyst for this phenomenon.