New Zealand announces border reopening as stranded Kiwi journalist seeks refuge in Afghanistan

New Zealand announces border reopening as stranded Kiwi journalist seeks refuge in Afghanistan
By James Harrison


New Zealand has announced a plan to reopen its border to Australia on 27 February for fully vaccinated kiwis, while stranded pregnant journalist from New Zealand, Charlotte Bellis, who took refuge with the Taliban due to current border laws, finally secured a quarantine spot.

Fellow Kiwi citizens stuck in other parts of the world will have to wait until 13 March.

The update means that travellers no longer have to enter a lottery to win a place in New Zealand’s strict managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) system.

Returning New Zealanders will be able to self-isolate from home and it is expected that Aussie tourists and other travellers from visa-waiver countries, will be allowed in under similar conditions no later than July.

Non-visa holders are expected to be allowed to enter by October.

NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern said trying to manage the nation’s MIQ system “has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic.”

The updates to New Zealand’s quarantine laws come after Bellis found herself stranded in Afghanistan, however, she finally secured a spot in the MIQ system recently.

Bellis is pregnant with her partner, Jim Huylebroek, a Belgium native who has lived in Afghanistan for two years. She was working in Qatar, where extramarital sex is illegal, and after discovering she was pregnant Bellis had to leave.

The NZ journalist briefly moved to Huylebroek’s home country of Belgium, but couldn’t stay because she’s not a resident. The only other place the pair had visas to was Afghanistan, where the Taliban offered her refuge, even considering her situation.

“When the Taliban offers you — a pregnant, unmarried woman — safe haven, you know your situation is messed up,” Bellis wrote.

New Zealand’s deputy prime minister Grant Robertson said the government has now offered Bellis a spot in quarantine.

“There is a place in MIQ for Miss Bellis, and I urge her to take it,” Robertson said.

Bellis said in a statement that her application had been approved and that she was returning to New Zealand in March.

“We are so excited to return home and to be surrounded by family and friends at such a special time,” Bellis said.

The ordeal has made international headlines, but many have called out the hypocrisy of the Taliban’s treatment of Afghani women.

According to the ABC, online groups of Afghani women voiced scepticism around the Taliban’s treatment of Bellis, particularly Kabul resident Sodaba Noorai.

“[Afghan women] were surprised the Taliban can treat women in a good manner and know how to respect them,” Noorai said.

“The Taliban is trying to convey the message that they know about human rights, especially women’s rights.

“But in reality their treatment of Afghan women is different to their support and respect for this New Zealand woman.”

The Taliban took over Afghanistan 6 months ago and has left many women living in fear, with many being killed for protesting the country’s new rulers.

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