This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
June 21, 2020
It was a day of immense relief and joy for me and hundreds of other Kenyans stranded in Nigeria. After three long and anxious months, I finally received my negative COVID-19 test results, paving the way for my journey back home.
My journey began with a pounding headache due to overthinking and anxiety. I had been hoping and praying that I would finally travel home. The previous day, I had gone to bed with a heavy heart, but I was determined to make the most of the new day.
At 2 pm, I dragged myself out of bed and began to pack for my journey home. The rain had pounded through the night, and I had kept drifting in and out of sleep, anxious to check updates on our repatriation WhatsApp group to confirm that our flight home was still on course.
After contacting the testing centre where I had my COVID-19 test, I was assured that I would get my results in the afternoon. I needed them to apply for home self-quarantine. It was essential that I got the results because I couldn't afford any further hotel costs, and I didn't think I was psychologically able to handle being cooped up in another hotel.
Just before I started packing, the email I had been anxiously awaiting pinged, and I hurriedly opened it. I was negative, and I didn't have COVID-19, therefore I could apply for home quarantine. Adrenaline flowed through my body, and I did an energetic jig. Once I calmed down, I quickly followed the procedure outlined for the self-quarantine application and sent in my application.
After a shower and a meal, I settled down to eat, having checked in successfully. I called my mum and gave her the update, then texted a handful of friends. I was trying my best to inform as few people as possible about tomorrow's confirmed flight. I didn't want to imagine a repeat episode of what happened last week when our flight was postponed.
Later that night, I received an email from Kenya Airways informing me of a one-hour delay. Instead of leaving at 1.30 pm, we would be leaving at 2.30 pm. I decided to wake up at 8 am to shorten the day after Lanre and I agreed that he would come for me at 10.30 am to drive me to the airport.
Texts started streaming in at 6.30 am from friends and family excited that I was coming home. At 8 am, I jumped out of bed, did a happy dance, and headed off to the bathroom. Within an hour, I was packed up and ready to go.
Lanre finally arrived, and we loaded my luggage into his car. I then bid my friends at Staycation goodbye.
I was among the first Kenyans to arrive at the airport. I spotted a big group of individuals of Asian origin, more than 100, whom I gathered were also being repatriated that day. I and three other Kenyans proceeded to our check-in counter.
That's when I realized that the process wouldn't be a walk in the park. Social distancing measures were in place, and everyone had a mask. Even though we didn't recognize each other, we knew we were all part of the WhatsApp group, and after a few awkward moments, we started talking when we realized that they required documents such as a quarantine hotel booking, which none of us had. We also had to print out our negative COVID-19 certificates among other forms.
There was a lot of back and forth, and eventually, after realizing that we wouldn't get the hotel bookings, we were asked to indicate which ones we preferred to go to when we landed. Finally, one by one, we were cleared.
It was a long wait as we were scheduled to depart at 2.30 pm. Every minute felt surreal, and I was yet to accept that I was not dreaming. By 3 pm, the flight had not yet come in, but we didn't complain. All we cared about was that we got to fly home.
When the plane finally landed at about 3.30 pm, you could see the joy in everyone's eyes. I felt very patriotic and had never been happier to see a Kenya Airways plane.
We finally boarded, everyone sitting on their own to observe social distancing. It was a moment of immense relief when we finally took off. The crew were all in protective gear, and as they served us, we felt safe. After a hot meal, I curled up hoping to sleep but was unable to because of the excitement, so I ended up thinking, mostly wondering whether I would get approval to self-quarantine because my email approval had not come in by the time we switched off our phones for the flight.
At 11 pm, we finally landed and broke out clapping, thanking God for a safe journey. After a health check, we were allowed to proceed to the immigration counter, where the process was very fast. Before moving to the conveyor belt to look for my suitcase, I went looking for the counter where someone in the WhatsApp group had said we could apply for self-quarantine.
I was instructed to fill a form, and after a few minutes, my name was called out. It turned out that my forms had already been approved and printed, including a driver's pass to allow movement past curfew hours. This felt completely unbelievable.
I bid goodbye to a few of the Kenyans from the group and then happily collected my suitcase and headed for the exit.
It felt like every employee at the airport was determined to make things easy for us, and I thanked everyone that I interacted with. Soon, I was on my way home.
