A pregnant journalist has spoken out and slammed her government after being left stranded in Afghanistan for months.
Charlotte Bellis is a 25-week-pregnant journalist from New Zealand who is stranded in Afghanistan and unable to return home due to the country’s closed borders and draconian Covid-19 measures and policies.
As the reporter claimed, she repeatedly tried to go back to New Zealand ahead of her due date in May only to have her application denied on two occasions.
In her latest bid to leave Afghanistan, the woman also attempted to obtain permission to return to New Zealand under the 1A(i) category intended for citizens who are in need of immediate medical treatment that they can’t receive abroad.
Despite Bellis’ fast-approaching due date, however, her application was once again put on hold because “more information is required before a decision can be made.” Leaving the journalist baffled, the authorities then suggested she applies under another category.
The e-mail the journalist received also suggested her original application was automatically deactivated because her proposed travel dates were out of the 14-day window dictated by the rules.
As the mom-to-be explained, however, she had to plan further in advance due to the scarcity of flights leaving the country at this time.
Amid the hassle and problems with her own government, Bellis turned to the Taliban for help only for the group to tell her she was more than welcome to give birth in Afghanistan.
“We’re happy for you, you can come and you won’t have a problem,” the Taliban allegedly told her after she desperately asked for help.
“To the NZ Government, I ask what do you want me to do? I have done nothing wrong I got pregnant and I am a New Zealander,” Bellis told News1.
“At what point did we get so bogged down in these rules we’ve come up with that we can’t see that she’s a Kiwi in need of help and she needs to come home?”
In a piece for the New Zealand Herald, she added: “When the Taliban offers you – a pregnant, unmarried woman – safe haven, you know your situation is messed up.”
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