A pregnant journalist from New Zealand who remained in Afghanistan due to anti-covid measures and entry restrictions imposed by her country, said today that New Zealand authorities have offered her a way to return.
Officials initially insisted that journalist Charlotte Bellis must re-apply for a place at the quarantine hotel, but gave up and offered her a room voucher.
New Zealand still has thousands of citizens overseas waiting for places to become available in border hotels for military-run quarantine.
The head of the New Zealand quarantine system, Chris Bani, said that the new offer was given to journalist Bellis because Afghanistan is extremely dangerous and there is a risk of terrorism, adding that the possibility to help people on the ground there is limited, especially after the withdrawal of American forces.
He added that the publicity surrounding the Belis case was not the deciding factor and that her safety was the only thing to consider.
Bellis, 35, worked as a correspondent from Afghanistan for the Qatari media network Al Jazeera. She quit her job in November because it is illegal in Qatar for an unmarried woman to be pregnant.
Bellis then traveled to Belgium, trying to obtain residency in the country of her photographer partner Jim Heilebrook, but due to the length of the process, she remained in Belgium with an expired visa.
She and Heilebrook returned to Afghanistan because they had a visa for that country, and from there they are fighting to return to New Zealand.
New Zealand officials said Heilebrook would receive the same voucher as Bellis if they arrived on the same flight.
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