Life was always fragile but more so now! In these very dark times, also lies more difficulties and heartbreaks. Families cannot be there for each other to support each other as travel restrictions have become more rigid than ever before. I am seeing so many suffer around me every day because of it. 

 However much positive you may try to remain, you cannot escape the pain you feel to see others in pain at this time. So many I know could not make it on time to be with their loved ones who lost their lives to this deadly pandemic and so many others are trying so hard to overcome all the obstacles of airlines' travel restrictions and visa or passport related problems to make it back home to India or elsewhere to be there for their old parents or any other loved one. The delay in their emergency travel is naturally affecting them so badly! 

Each moment weighs so heavily on them and they feel just lost, helpless, and stuck when they are not able to reach their families right away and they have to wait for appointments for emergency visas or for their passports that have gone for renewals to be returned to them. They have to wait for appointments as walk-ins are not allowed during this time. But time is the biggest factor here as life does not wait for anyone...What do people in such situations do? Do they just resign to fate and let life take its natural course of action? Do they just keep waiting for things to happen while each breath of their parents is difficultly taken and their eyes search for them?      

To add to it, it is difficult to get emergency visas for people without a letter from the patient's doctor and it is so difficult to reach doctors from overseas in these times particularly because they are not able to answer phone calls or emails in these trying times. One shouldn't have to go through this! I witness that every day here and my heart goes out to their families and them. We as a family had been through that too some months back when we had a medical emergency back home and each minute was so difficult especially because we had to first tackle the challenges of completing all pandemic-related travel formalities in the form of various documents and tests as well as get an emergency visa.  

A person I have not yet met but got acquainted with through our neighborhood group is having such a tough time making it to India right now even though she has able to gather most of the required medical documents for her emergency-related travel with the exception of a letter from a Doctor and her passport which is stuck in the renewal process right now. Her in-laws are in a critical condition and she needs to be there for them especially because as mentioned by her, unfortunately, her husband can't make it just yet because of unavoidable circumstances. To add to her problems she has to leave her kids here because it is not safe for them to travel. 

For so many days now she is trying to make it back to India but she is facing many challenges despite having medical reports of her in-laws indicating that they have COVID and severe infection. I am doing my best to be there for her and try my best to give her emotional support as well as some useful advice. But that is not enough as she needs to be on her way to India as soon as possible! This is what made me share my thoughts here today. 

 Right now we as Indians are there for each other here and have come together in providing all forms of support to people back in our country. But what is needed is something more! We have to assist those who need to travel back home due to emergency situations by helping them out in quickly coordinating their travel arrangements and preparing all the needed documents for their travels. At that time one is already so lost and having to deal with all this stuff makes matters worse.  I remember how I was running around for printouts of all the required documents for my travel at the last moment as the airports especially in the destination country required that. 

We need entire support from our Indian community leaders here to work with the Consulates in organizing more emergency helplines and help desks in every city here to assist people in emergency situations in every way possible. I am sure that the large population of Indians in the United States can easily manage to do that and gather volunteers too. It is true we all are doing our bit and helping out each other the best way we can but it requires more structure and definition! And for that different groups, institutions, and organizations will have to work more closely together to assist people traveling for emergency purposes. Let's make it easier for all as they already have so much on their minds at that time and have a long journey to embark on to reach their loved ones to help them get better...Some are crossing over that long-distance just to bid a last farewell... Each journey requires so much support when taken for reasons of a medical emergency in the family or a sad ending. And that is why we need to support them more at that time and make things easier for them...