It was an ordeal that could shake your faith in country, family and leaders.
It might leave you uncertain about your place in the world and unclear as to how fellow citizens dispense their empathy and to whom.
By the time Darren Tyson had made it back to his Central Trinidad home after nearly eight months in âexileâ in New York, USA, he felt disoriented, disconnected from his homeland and was battling a âbitternessâ he couldnât quite identify.
He was also left disturbed by the exemption process âwhich he described as âbizarreââand further claimed a person purporting to be from the Ministry of National Security had attempted to âhustleâ him following his application to re-enter the country in May.
A few lucky Trinidadians were hosted by nearby friends for Christmas dinner before parts of Canada returned to heavy lockdowns yesterday in another bid to curb rising Covid-19 infections.
But many Trinidad and Tobago nationals sheltering in place in countries like Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, who were cut off by the closure of local borders and the global near-shutdown of airline services, spent Christmas alone.
Stranded Trinis abroadâthousands of themâhave one thing in common: they are pining to come home.
Some are in groups, such as migrant seasonal farm workers in Canada, and most are pleading for the chance to return as they are relying mostly on the kindness of people they befriended over the course of the past few months.