According to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 26,000 Belgians are in these Gulf countries, including nearly 2,500 tourists. And that’s without counting all those who had to return from vacation on the other side of the world with a stopover in the Middle East.
This is the case of Fabrizio Talone, his wife and their two sons aged 12 and 15, still stuck in the Maldives although they were supposed to be back home in Grivegnée this Monday. We managed to contact Fabrizio Talone.
“I was supposed to return with a stopover in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately, events meant that we were stuck at the airport” he testifies. “Regarding the Belgian embassy, they bluntly told us that as long as our lives are not in danger, they cannot repatriate us. Concerning my other repatriation insurance, the same. The same answers. There will be no repatriation. Lives are not in danger. We are starting very slowly, not to panic, but to ask ourselves questions. We think to the children who will miss school. Work too, my wife’s work, my work. Luckily, the family was finally able to find accommodation to spend the night.
For the future, Fabrizio Talone and his family hope to obtain reassuring news from their airline this Tuesday afternoon, but without certainty of repatriation in the short term.
