Images of New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis went viral last year when she openly questioned the Taliban in Afghanistan how they would defend women’s rights.
Omikron
Last week Bellis herself became world news, because she was not allowed to travel back to her home country. Bellis is pregnant and therefore wanted to return to New Zealand with her Belgian boyfriend. However, the country is currently keeping its borders closed in the hope of keeping the omikron variant out as much as possible.
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The journalist asked the authorities in New Zealand for an exception, but it was refused. Then she turned to the media. “At what point did we get so caught up in those rules we made up that we can’t see anymore that I’m a New Zealander who needs help and should be able to go home?” Bellis wrote in an article. in a New Zealand newspaper.
‘People in emergency situations’
Corona minister Chris Hipkins already announced yesterday that there would be a place in a quarantine hotel for the pregnant journalist. “We make exceptions for people in emergency situations,” he wrote.
Bellis just tweeted that she and her boyfriend could return to New Zealand early next month so she can deliver her baby there:
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Regulations
The New Zealander’s first application had been denied by authorities, saying there would have been no “medical need” to bring Bellis back. This is also because the regulations regarding medical necessity state that a medical procedure is required within fourteen days. Because Bellis will only give birth in a few months, that was out of the question.
She will eventually be able to return to New Zealand, because the location where she is now has been classified as a ‘risk area’. Bellis writes that she is disappointed that it “had to come this far” before she could book flights home. She wants to “keep fighting for New Zealanders who want to fly home.”
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