I am a Scottish girl in lock down in a village in South Goa.
Only the Goan Government in India enforced draconian measures, closing all shops and businesses with no prior notice, meaning people cannot get supplies of food, water, basic essentials, or leave the state or country.

In addition, the police have been enforcing corporal punishment to people found outside their homes. Both westerners and Indians have been beaten with sticks.
Many people were simply out in search of urgent food, or basic essentials.

Amidst growing concern for corona spreading in India, alongside GM growing hostilities towards foreigners in India, we have been waiting patiently for the UK government for offer any assistance, meanwhile watching bus loads of Germans being taken on free repatriation flights...

Many EU nations have been successfully organising free or heavily subsidised emergency flights home, all the while the UK government has provided no information on plans for flights.
Many people are in desperate need of medication, and basic essentials for their children here too

Only today, after waiting since the 22nd March, and watching Italians. Germans, French, Spanish, Czech and Dutch citizens all be repatriated for the last week or so...
Today finally we received word from the UK government that their is now flights for those who need it most...

And how much would this gracious offer cost "the people who need it most urgently"? Only around £700.
That's just to London. Per person, including children.

For me as a Scot to get another onward flight to Scotland makes it just under £1000.

That was really worth the wait.

Many Brits who were in urgent need to get back, attempted to get on Spanish or other cheap EU flights. They were told by the embassy that they would not be permitted on those flights because the UK was to no longer be a part of the EU.

So UK citizens were told to 'be patient'...

As a Scot, who's nation voted to remain in the EU and was dragged out by England against our will, you can imagine how that may have felt.

We are now in the position of being trapped here, watching every other nation be safely aided home, while the UK gov says and does nothing.

As a Scot, if I needed to get home (as a matter of fact a family member just passed away and I cant return) Im apparently denied access to the cheaper EU flights as I am no longer part of EU. And then to be extorted for almost £1000 by the UK who forcibly removed us from the EU.

Just for comparison, the German flights offered repatriation travel without payment. Some offer reimbursement policy. The last Italy flight cost €500 (£440). Why as a Scot have we been left stranded here without a word, then given one option costing almost £1000 by UK gov?

I immediately contacted the british high commissioner to enquire, but have yet to recieve any satisfactory answer.
W

@NicolaSturgeon @MhairiBlack @theSNP as a fervent member of the SNP for years, can you shed any light as to why Scots stranded in these situations, facing draconian measures of police violence + no access to basic necessities, should be extorted this way by UK gov?

Why can other EU countries offer their citizens safe affordable assistance back to their country, But the UK cannot, and therefor apparently Scotland cannot?

@MartinJDocherty
@Channel4News
@STVNews

@Ross_Greer can the Scottish Parliament shed any light as to the apparent extortion of Scots and British citizens trapped here in the circumstances mentioned in this thread?
I don't know a single person here who can afford that gracious 'emergency flight' back home.