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Hundreds of Australian travellers stuck in India are pleading with the Federal Government to organise emergency flights home, amid concern about police brutality and a sudden escalation in community tension after the country went into a three-week lockdown.
Key points:
- India is currently under a three-week national lockdown to combat coronavirus
- Police have beaten people for leaving their homes
- Travellers say they fear being targeted because foreigners are seen as "virus spreaders"
Almost 400 Australians have put their name on a spreadsheet that is linked to an email written to Foreign Minister Marise Payne, pleading for help after they were caught off guard by the quickly evolving shutdowns.
Among them is 30-year-old Kasper Simonsen, from Brisbane, who landed in India eight weeks ago for a work trip but is now stranded after several flights he booked were cancelled.
"The lockdown is enforced very, very heavily by the police here," he told the ABC.
"There's been many reports of people getting caned and beaten with batons for breaking lockdown procedures.
"Being white, we've been advised very heavily by local authorities, by hotel staff, not to exit the hotel venue or hotel premises at all because we'll be seen as virus spreaders."
Operations considered "essential" such as grocery stores and pharmacies, are meant to stay open during the lockdown.
But Mr Simonsen said he was afraid to leave the hotel and many Australians were "getting more and more desperate to get out" amid concerns the lockdown might not finish after three weeks.
At first, he said he and several other international colleagues convinced a hotel to let them stay during an initial week-long shut down.
But they are unsure whether they will be allowed to stay in the hotel for the three-week national lockdown, which was announced after they took refuge.
"We're not sure if we're going to have safe accommodation anymore or whether we'll be out on the streets," he said.
Fear of foreigners forces many to stay in hotel rooms
Mr Simonsen and his colleagues are not the only ones who have noticed a shift in community attitudes towards foreigners, as increasingly aggressive lockdown measures have been implemented across the country.
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Last week, an Australian woman described how she and a friend were forced into quarantine in India after being picked up by authorities while travelling there earlier this month.
Brad Humphries and his wife Kunti Ranade, who are stuck in Mumbai, have also felt a change in the community after the lockdown was announced.
"It changes rapidly, which is the scary part," Mr Humphries said.
"One day, we're walking down the street there's no problem. The next day we walk down the street, everybody we walk past [who sees] a white man puts their mask on."
In the first few days of the lockdown, social media was also flooded with reports of overzealous police using bamboo sticks to repeatedly whack those thought to be in breach of the lockdown laws.
In cities such as Mumbai, officers forced alleged violators to do squats and push-ups, while in the state of Uttar Pradesh, police were filmed forcing poor migrant workers to hop on the side of the road, prompting a senior superintendent to issue an apology after public outrage.
Mr Humphries said the national lockdown had been interpreted differently by local officers and bureaucrats, making it even harder for citizens and foreigners to follow.
"[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi might have made some rules," Mr Humphries said.
"[But] within each state there are little bureaucrats. Each bureaucrat is doing their own thing, and each police chief is doing their own thing."
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Australian Navin Chandhar Chittatoor has also been left confused by the different rules, having arrived in Chennai on March 13 to see his family.
Two days ago, he noticed a quarantine sticker was put outside his family's home, because he had flown in from overseas.
Now they are struggling to get food delivered. While this has caused problems for the family, it's particularly concerning as his sister-in-law is six months' pregnant.
"People come and they see the sticker and they ask us not to contact them anymore cause of the stickers," he said.
"Milk is the main thing. It's been cut off.
"My brother's wife, she's pregnant, and she needs to take her nutrition every day."
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Abrupt nationwide shutdown causes chaos for nation's poor
Mr Modi has apologised to citizens for the abrupt nationwide shutdown, which saw the closure of public transport, non-essential businesses, schools and state borders.
Congregations, be that for sport or religion, were also strictly prohibited.
"I apologise for taking these harsh steps that have caused difficulties in your lives, especially the poor people," he said during his monthly radio broadcast on Sunday (local time).
In announcing the lockdown during a national televised address, Mr Modi gave the public fewer than four hours' notice before the three-week lockdown took effect.
It meant thousands of working poor, who often sleep wherever they can find work, were left without an income or a place to sleep as factories, shops and warehouses were abruptly closed.
With no other options, they had to walk long distances to get home. Thousands flooded across state borders, while homeless shelters and bus stops were also inundated.
One group of migrant workers the ABC spoke with were intending to walk 240 kilometres.
"There is no transport available now, and I don't have any money left," labourer Om Prakash said.
"Food is expensive around here. So, that's why I am walking to my place."
On Sunday, the number of confirmed cases in India hit 1,024, which includes 95 people that have recovered.
Topics: disease-control, infectious-diseases-other, police, tourism, race-relations, covid-19, india
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