Author of this post wished to remain anonymous. Writing in June 2020….
To end up temporarily stuck amid a pandemic in the Netherlands with my parents and my girlfriend certainly was not something I planned for my birthday week, still, that was my reality for around a week. On March 11, the WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, and that was the moment my once normal life as a Political Science Master’s student at Leiden University started to change. That same day I was about to receive my parents, my girlfriend, and friends, who were coming to celebrate my birthday in the Hague. Everything went as planned, I showed them a bit of my life as an Erasmus Mundus’ student in the Netherlands. However, on the next day the different repercussions of WHO’s decision started to arise: two friends, who were supposed to arrive that day, cancelled their trip; the country where my girlfriend studies closed the borders; and finally, the Dutch government forbad face-to-face classes.
Suddenly, not only I had to deal with the now uncertain upcoming tests and assignments, but to work to guarantee the safety of my loved ones. Together, we dealt with uncertainty and tiresome attempts to contact with embassies. And since stores and restaurants were closed, for days we stayed indoors while waiting for updates. Despite the fact we would cook daily, the smell of pasta and meat was replaced by uneasiness and concern about the future. The portent changed how the world felt, as we expected things to change without knowing to what degree.
After almost a week, they found flights back to their respective home countries, which then left me considering what to do. Right after my girlfriend’s departure, I received an e-mail from the accommodation office announcing the possibility to prematurely cancel my housing contract without extra costs. Since I saw myself stuck on this long, expensive contract the chance of moving away from the Netherlands’ high cost of living was interesting. I chose to leave.
It may sound weird considering the current COVID-19 situation in Brazil, but in mid-March, Europe was the epicentre of the pandemic, and the Netherlands had a growing number of cases while not implementing what I understood as sufficiently restrictive measures. I did not want to wait to see how the Dutch scenario would look like. Although I knew things would get worse, I was feeling relatively safe to go back to my country, since I know Brazilian reality good enough to know that, unfortunately, social inequality and the absence of state welfare meant the outbreak would impact the lower class differently from the middle class.
My parents’ short stay and abrupt departure, as well as my desire to take care of them, since they are in the high-risk group, also impacted my decision. Brazil did not offer state repatriation, therefore, I searched for the tickets myself and discovered they were costing three times the regular price. The only flight with a reasonable price was in less than two days, so that night I started packing.
To take a flight was a dangerous decision, of course. I tried to mitigate the risks by taking a direct flight to São Paulo. However, once in the airport I could not feel safe at all. By the end of March, masks were a rare item and its use was not compulsory. Some lucky passengers wore it, but for most of us to spontaneously cooperate with one another, by practicing social distancing, was our only option – which, at the end, became comically pointless, since the aircraft was full, and no masks or hand sanitizers were offered during our 12 hours flight.
As expected, back in Brazil commerce was fully open, and compulsory quarantine was not enforced by the federal government, as well as any other action. Nevertheless, regionally some measures were taken – although it proved to be more inconvenient than effective. The state in which I live forbad certain vehicles to cross the state borders. This impacted my arrival, and to overcome it I had to cross the border on Uber, to then get on my father’s car.
Back home my new reality as a student was limited to digital platforms, and due to the time zone, I could not attend some classes. Happily, the professors understood the situation of us students and changed their assignments’ deadlines. Still, the circumstances for studying were certainly stressful, especially considering that throughout that time the federal government incomprehensibly disregarded the increasing number of cases and deaths and resisted against precautionary policies, alleging it would harm the economy.
Due to the diplomatic repercussions of the national mismanagement of the pandemic many travel restrictions are being applied to Brazilians. Now, the viral outbreak is not my only source of distress, and I must consider returning earlier than planned to the EU in order to guarantee my entry and the continuation of my studies.
