By Martha Taumata Fa’avae
Fourteen days of quarantine in a hotel in Apia ended last Friday for a Savai’i mother from Puapua who has not been home for more than 3 months.
Taala Faapisa Kirifi wanted only to catch the first boat home when her enforced stay ended, to hold her husband and son she missed so much.
Her story of a short visit to be with loved ones in New Zealand runs along the same lines as 145 other people she flew back with to Samoa two weeks ago.
All pointed to the coronavirus pandemic or COVID-19.
The nightmare started when Samoa slammed her borders shut to keep the spread of the deadly virus from reaching the country.
Kirifi was in New Zealand for 2 weeks when that happened and she was stranded.
More than a thousand others like her were trapped with all travels to Samoa shutdown.
An exception was made so they can return home and Kirifi was among the first group to find their way back.
“ I was with loved ones in New Zealand but there is no place like home and I wanted to come back to Samoa so badly,” Kirifi recalled the uncertain times of her visit with families.
When the news came around that she can come home, her one thought was to get on the flight.
There was no care whether she brings any luggage or not. All she wanted was for the flight to take off.
Even the understanding that she will have to be stashed away in isolation mattered little to her.
When she finally landed in Samoa, she and 9 others in her group were bundled off to a small hotel at the outskirts of Apia.
Her prolonged absence from home ended on Friday on a bittersweet note, however, as the members made their goodbyes.
“ I miss the camaraderie we shared in our group once we got to know each other and became close during our stay.”
Kirifi had no complaints about their hotel stay.
Service was good and the food was not really much of an issue because they were more interested in speeding up the days so they can finally go home.
There was also a lot of general understanding in her group at where they ended up because of the deadly pandemic.
“We too are quite aware of the need to keep our country safe from the virus. We all wouldn’t be held up in quarantine if it was not for this deadly threat.”
Kirifi admitted her fears while in New Zealand because the virus was in the country already and it made her even more homesick to return to the safety of Samoa.
Her health worries were not just at the risk of her loved ones living in New Zealand but thinking back to Samoa and missing her family.
The Savaii mother was released from quarantine in the afternoon and she was on the 4.00pm boat home when it sailed from the Mulifanua wharf.