A seven-year-old German girl was reunited with her parents after being stuck in Germany for a month, thanks to the special arrangements made by the UAE authorities.
Her mother said “the touching experience” validated the family’s “most important decision in life” to move their business to the UAE and settle here.
“We had decided to move our business to the UAE two years back with a lot of expectations about this country. Now, this experience proved it right,” said the child’s mother Viktoria Gaertke.
The child, Godiva Gaertke, was eagerly waiting to join her parents in Abu Dhabi since German and Emirati flights were suspended and borders were closed last month as part of the global measures to contain new coronavirus, COVID-19.
She was in Germany with her grandparents and other relatives since 8th March, but the recent developments jeopardised her planned return to the UAE on March 22.
The little girl and her parents were desperately waiting for the reunion. After a long wait, finally, she flew back to the UAE late on 6th April.
Godiva, a grade one pupil at an Abu Dhabi school, was the centre of attention among her classmates when she joined her first online class two days after her arrival in the UAE.
“Like us, her classmates were also eagerly waiting for her. Their friendly gestures and love made her first online class very exciting for her,” her mother told Emirates News Agency, WAM.
“The children were asking about her experience and she told them she was taken care of well during her return flight to the UAE. She also told them so many people worked hard for her return,” Gaertke said.
Godiva had travelled alone to Germany a few times in the past. “She is very adventurous,” the mother said.
However, the parents never expected the unprecedented global developments unfolded later.
Germany closed its borders on March 16 and the UAE suspended on March 19 the entry of all its valid residence visa holders who were out of the country as part of the efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.
They parents submitted the child’s details on Twajudi, an online platform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and followed up the matter with Emirati officials and the German Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
“I spoke to dozens of Emirati officials – everyone was courteous and supportive. The diplomats at the German Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the UAE Embassy in Germany also helped a lot,” Gaertke said.
“I was missing her very much but never expressed my emotions when I was speaking to her on the phone; I just told her we were working on her return when she was asking about it.
“When Emirati officials promised a positive outcome, I trusted them.”
Gaertke and her husband decided to move their medical diagnostic business to the UAE because of their “trust in the country and its people.”
“We had lived in many other countries. But we found the UAE unique. We love the landscape, weather and people here. Moreover, we met so many kind people here,” she said.
Commenting about the little girl’s experience, Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the UAE, told WAM, “I was so happy about this because it is a sign of hope, solidarity and love at a challenging time. Thanks to the UAE for sending out this message.”
