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‘Thank you for bringing us home safely’
Coming home: Lankan students arriving at BIA from Singapore. Pix by T.K.G Kapila
The Foreign Ministry has expanded its repatriation efforts to students in other regions of the world, after concluding repatriation of Sri Lankan students across South Asia.
Approximately 208 students were repatriated from the UK on a special Sri Lankan Airlines flight that landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on May 4.
Roma Vedamuttu, a student who was following her Masters in Law in London, spoke to the Sunday Times on her experience throughout the repatriation process. “Social distancing rules on the flight itself depended on who you came with, if you were in a group you’d be sitting together and if you came alone, you’d have no one next to you,” she said. Passengers were given bottles of water, but no pillows or blankets and were not permitted to use the screens onboard. Passengers were also expected to wear masks.
BIA better than Heathrow
The only medical precaution that had been in place at the Heathrow Airport had been the two-meter distance maintenance prior to check-in and the security check. “At the security check the trays used for the scanning were not sanitized, we had to put in our jackets and luggage in trays used by 1000 passengers who passed by,” she said. Staff had not been wearing masks and there was no sanitizer available for use at the airport.
The Bandaranaike International Airport on the other hand, while maintaining the two-meter social distancing laws, had taken thorough medical precautions. These included the sanitization of “everything possible” from hands to luggage to feet. Passengers were given masks and gloves prior to entering the airport and thermal testing had been conducted prior to immigration checking.
Roma is currently at a quarantine facility at the Diyagama Technological Institute. The students have been given their own rooms and communal toilets. Each floor has a washing machine, iron, water heaters, and the toiletries that people may require for the duration of their stay. Roma attests to the quality of the meals and desserts provided which the students are free to collect and eat at a time of their choosing.
On the direction of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa students had been marked as a priority group in repatriation efforts. The Government of Sri Lanka has coordinated with the Sri Lankan High Commission (HC) in the UK and the SLA in the efforts to repatriate students from the UK. The HC has maintained constant contact with the students and had provided emergency contact numbers as well as 24/7 hotlines to reach them.
Roma concluded her interview with the Sunday Times by expressing her gratitude to the Forces and medical staff who have played a vital role in ensuring their safety right throughout the process. “I am very grateful to each and every one including our parents for the task of bringing us down safely,” she said.