When you hail from an area that prides itself on remaining fruit fly free, you understand the concept of quarantine. Imagine your father works for an organization whose prime objective is exporting fruit – welcome to my world of neurotic quarantine. We grew up with a very heathy respect for keeping Australia free of the bugs and diseases that it had managed to avoid by being an island. This is something that I have carried on to my own family, they are vigilant when it comes to flying into Australia. On a recent flight home, G spotted a woman spitting the seeds from a piece of fruit she’d eaten into a plastic bag (a crafty plan for reproduction) and he dobbed her in. I giggled at his excited nature when he told me how he’d implemented the sting, but I was secretly very proud of his diligence.
I’ve watched fellow travellers get stopped at customs and sheepishly produce a weeks worth of food for a family of 8. Legs of meat, fruit and vegetables are stuffed into the sides of suitcases and tucked away at the bottom of bags. I’ve watched as people have tried to argue about why they should keep the small tree they’ve carried half way across the world to plant in their garden, and then given an approving wink to the customs officer who has explained why it can’t happen. Blame my father.
What I hadn’t realized in my early expat years though, is that it was highly possible that it may be me, who was the next quarantine item. With the increase of international travel, expats have learnt that it’s now not only what you bring in, but who you bring in. We are now in a situation where it no longer becomes about your luggage or your lunch, it’s your temperature and your cough. Mention the words swine flu or SARS to an expat and they will immediately duck for cover.
My first experience of realizing I might be a threat to my own country was upon flying back from Jakarta to Australia. “Have you stepped foot on a farm in the past month?” I immediately said no – but then felt the need to qualify. I hadn’t been to a farm but I’d walked through fish markets and kampungs with goats and cattle. I saw a look of concern on the custom agents face
“Do you have the shoes that you wore?” I explained that they were back in Jakarta, and after an inspection of both the shoes I had on and the ones that were in my suitcase, I was ushered through.
In Libya, when SARS hit the news, our Canadian friends found themselves exploring alternative options for Christmas. They were told they had every right to leave, but there was no chance of returning back into the country. Losing your job can throw a bit of a dampener on the Christmas spirit – so they chose to stay. We were all impacted by SARS that particular year, body temperatures were scanned through many airports in South East Asia and no-one dared to cough. I looked into the little traveller’s eyes as we made our way through Singapore “Whatever you do, don’t sneeze”.
In Texas the children learnt a new set of skills at school. How to cough into your elbow and washing your hands like a heart surgeon, became a daily discussion when Swine Flu became prevalent across the border. On a trip to Australia a few years ago, we were contacted by the Queensland Health department after the third little traveller had burst into a colourful case of fifth disease or “slapped cheek”. When Grandma had mentioned to the doctor that we’d flown in from Texas, warning bells sounded. G was then taken through a half hour interview about our dealings with Mexico and who we’d had contact with. We didn’t mention our weekly catch up for tacos and magaritas with our Texmex amigos, we didn’t think they’d see the humour.
And now I sit here wondering if we are on the brink of the new elbow coughing phenomenon. I’m not concerned, but I’m certainly watching the news of a Qatari man critically ill with respiratory problems in London very closely. He’s linked to another man who has now died of the same condition. The New York Times tells me today that it is not SARS (but it’s from the same family) the good news is that it “does not appear to be easily spread from person to person”. In the back of my mind is a little voice saying “Are you sure you should be going home for this operation? Maybe you should take the children? Don’t risk you being in Australia while they’re here on a travel ban.” And then a louder voice comes in, the voice of expat reason, the one that always drowns out the little voice with a simple “settle down, you’ve been here before, don’t over-react”.
I need to put those little voices in quarantine until Christmas, they need to stop at the boarder control of common sense and logic.
Have you ever been quarantined?
After my son( Henry) was quarantined in an Infectious Disease Hospital in Singapore with swine flu ,I will always risk flying back to Australia during any future outbreak. He was in hospital for 5 days without any visits allowed and the rest of the family was put under home quarantine- for 10 days-thank goodness the supermarket and butcher agreed to deliver food to our front gate. Moving back to live in Singapore in Jan and first sign of a crisis I’m packing everybody up and flying back to OZ.
Nightmare scenario. What a tricky question. I suspect I would pack the family up if it became a worldwide epidemic. I remember the days of being sprayed with something whenever we landed in NZ, and I’m with you on the tight regulations against food 100%!
Oh my god the news is driving me insane. The not-SARS thing came out just after we had booked our flights for Dec – to different parts of the world. What if I get something and we can’t reunite? What if they get something? What if…? Then the threat from Iran and the other usual rumors that float the Doha expat mills. What if we can’t get back in? Or I get out and they don’t? Or….? It’s enough to get anyone in a tizzy.
I stopped reading the papers.
Melissah – it’s official, you win the best quarantine story. Holy Cow! How did you get through that? I cannot imagine what those 5 days were like when you couldn’t see your Henry. I’d be exactly the same if I were you. I’m so glad it all worked out okay for you. xx
Glad to have a fellow quarantine conspirator onboard – now, If it became a ‘worldwide epidemic’ you couldn’t pack the family up – there would be a travel ban. Not that I think that would ever happen…right? 🙂
I’m taking your lead – no more reading of papers. Now I just have to ignore everything in my Facebook and Twitter feed 🙂
In 1980 we drove the kids on a cross country trip from Ohio to California. At the border of California we were stopped. Just like Oakies in the thirties. Our food was inspected and all fruit confiscated. The we were allowed in. As I recall, there was some fruit fly infestation needing control.
That’s what happens just outside of the area I live in Joanne, there is a border quarantine and all fruit is confiscated. We’re very keen to keep fruit fly out of the area. How cool to drive the kids to California. Did you take them to Disneyland?
I had chickenpox in July. No human contact for 7 days. I was going nuts!
I read somewhere they’ve traced it to bats, in Qatar. And apparently the incubation period has passed and no one who was in contact with the confirmed patients has shown any symptoms. So we’re all supposed to relax. So naturally with all the sick people coughing and sniffling around me today I was absolutely calm and unconcerned.
A few years ago when mad cow disease was rife in the UK, we were quizzed every time we came back to the US and, as I recall, made to walk through disinfectant. My mother in England, lives right next door to horse farms, though no cows. We were asked if we’d been on farms, and although we were telling the truth when we said “no”, I half expected one of the kids to pipe up about the one next door.
BTW – love that phrase “dobbed her in”. Assuming it means busted her, or told on her?
We were once on a flight from Amsterdam to the US when a woman returning from Spain told me the secret is to put something in the top of your suitcase to be confiscated so they won’t look further down to find the “real” thing. Why would anyone do such a thing? Or tell that to a stranger? And she was coming home after living for several years in Spain so, if she did that, she would be jeopardizing her homeland!!! I just don’t understand how some people’s minds work.
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G came home from work last night looking as sick as the proverbial dog and went straight to bed. Didn’t. Think. About. It. At. All 😉
We did the same thing in the 80’s and they inspected the car and took fruit. Drove to California again this summer and they didn’t even stop us. Part of me wanted to stop the car & demand that they check it.
It’s not fruit they check for now at the California border, it’s illegals. My parents live on the Colorado river and it’s cheaper to travel to Arizona to get gas. When you travel back into Cali they always ask if everyone in the car is an American citizen.
I was a fan of SARS version 1 – to clarify – only for what it did for my family. Our son was three weeks old and my husband came home and said he was off to Hong Kong indefinitely in a week, it was an on again off again job that had been on the cards for a while and he had committed to taking it early in the pregnancy. That week SARS took off and the Australian government advised against traveling to Hong Kong. Luckily for me it was another six weeks before he was able to go and he did six months- flying home once a month until we all moved up to HK in November 2003. Our first expat posting, fun to remember 9 years and three countries later.