As the government focuses on ensuring that the Covid-19 pandemic at home is kept at bay, it has imposed several necessary measures which have included the indefinite shut down of airports. For Ugandans who were unable to make it back before the closure of the airport, many are still trapped in foreign cities, watching as every address to the nation neglects to mention any plans by our government on evacuation or safety plans. In what can only be perceived as a show of indifference, Ugandans are forced to watch as other nations negotiate special flights and evacuate their citizens back home.

After a yearlong battle with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that aggressively attacks the plasma cells, my friend’s father finally managed through the gruelling process of crowdsourcing to secure enough money to travel to the U.S. for a bone marrow transplant. He had just managed to prepare himself and his wife to return home after the surgery when the government announced the shutdown of the airport. It is now close to six weeks longer than they had planned to stay. With all their money spent, they are sleeping on a well-wisher’s couch, but even they know that they have long overstayed their welcome as the cost of hosting them continues to accrue.

For many students stuck in different countries, the uncertainty of when it will be possible to come home is compounded by many factors. In the U.S., the university semester has come to an end, and with that, the purpose of their stay. Having initially planned to travel home between April and May, visas have expired, rental agreements come to an end, health insurance has lapsed and upkeep for food has dwindled. All this, coupled with the fact that families and friends that were previously supporting them aren't able to anymore because of the lockdown measures in Uganda and elsewhere, have taken a toll on their daily earnings.

And then, there are the several other Ugandans whose story we may never get to hear, who have lost their jobs as the economic effects of the pandemic continue to affect several countries. Without any source of income, they are unable to take care of themselves, or the people back home that have been relying on them. Meanwhile, they continue to spend the last of their savings on paying off rent and trying to apply for visa extensions in the hope that they can be spared the dehumanising fate of being rounded up for not having proper legal documentation that allows them to stay abroad.

Nobody underestimates the unplanned costs the government has had to incur in dealing with a sudden pandemic. Indeed, Ugandans from all walks of life have come forward to assist in mobilising emergency resources to supplement government efforts. The logic is that we need to support the government to support us. And so like the food relief intervention targeting the most vulnerable back home, the government needs to appreciate the need to evacuate Ugandans stuck abroad as an urgent duty of the state to its citizens. After all, Ugandans living and working abroad have for long been one of the key anchors of our economy. Ugandans living and working abroad contribute substantially to growing the country’s economy. Uganda receives one of the largest remittances from citizens abroad – second in Eastern and sixth in sub-Saharan Africa. As per the Bank of Uganda data, remittances to Uganda by the diaspora abroad are estimated at up to $1.239 billion (about Shs4.7 trillion). Ugandans working in North America alone are reported to contribute over $100m (about Shs380 million) in remittances.

It is therefore an abdication of its duty for the government to ignore this section of citizens when the safety and wellbeing of all Ugandans is imperilled by a ravening pandemic. The position of the government as has been reported, is that those who are stuck should stay where they are, until the crisis subsides. There is no mention of how long this stay is to last, or how exactly those who are stuck abroad should survive. The reality of being abandoned to a foreign country, jobless, without health insurance or any means to survive seems unfortunately to be lost on many.

Even more frightening is that the longer Ugandans are forced to stay abroad because of the refusal by their government to prioritise their safe return, the more exposed they are to possible sickness. Between shuffling between friends of friends for housing and the inability to access health care as a foreigner, the risks of staying away are immeasurable. Why should Ugandans abroad be treated as such by the same country they continue to support in so many ways? The government cannot argue that it is an impossible ask, because as our neighbors have shown us, it can be done. There are no shortage of solutions, as we continue to see Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and many others work towards ensuring that their people are safe – why not Ugandans?

Special arrangement flights would surely not be the equivalent of spending millions more on paying rent, visa fees, medical and the many countless costs of keeping Ugandans abroad. The government has had over six weeks to organise institutional quarantine centres to ensure that those who return are able to safely isolate for the required 14 days. By continuously refusing to evacuate Ugandans stuck abroad or put in place any measures to allow them the opportunity to return safely, the government has not only abdicated several of its duties and responsibilities towards us as citizens but sent a message that ultimately Ugandan lives are disposable.

Ms. Bigirwa is a feminist lawyer, triciatwasiima@gmail.com