'It's just one big mess and it's unfair': Travel ban leaves local family split across continents

When the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was identified by South African scientists in November, several Western countries imposed an immediate travel ban on Southern African countries, sending many individuals' plans and lives into disarray.

The travel ban left one local family split across two continents, heartbroken and devastated, with three children asking for only one wish: to hug their father, Giovanni Titus, for Christmas.

"We promised our children that Daddy will be home for Christmas," said Ivana Titus in a Facebook post. "World took it away overnight."

'6 months ago, we made the most difficult decision as a family'

When the first wave of Covid-19 hit, the Titus family had been living happily in their Durbanville home for the past 12 years, the devastated mom tells News24.

Ivana and Giovanni Titus, who have been married for 12 years and have three children, share that the economic instability brought on by the national lockdown left Giovanni without work.

This meant that the Titus family would have to make the most difficult decision of their lives, Ivana says. Given that Ivana and her children have Slovak citizenship, she began looking for employment solutions in Slovakia.

Rather quickly, she found work as a Kindergarten English teacher at a Slovak private school, which her children could also attend.

Within two weeks, Ivana and the three children were packed and ready for their move to Slovakia, where they expected that their devoted and loving husband and father would soon follow.

'Patiently counting the days until your arrival here'

"Everything happened so so fast. [Giovanni] stayed behind to sort some stuff out and he was supposed to join us," explains Ivana. "He booked a ticket and every time with this craziness happening, it got cancelled," she says.

Ivana believes that they exhausted all their options, from considering a detour through Austria, which unexpectedly went into lockdown, to finding alternatives through Ireland, only to be met with red tape and bureaucratic roadblocks.

"Because he isn't a Slovak citizen or European citizen, nor has a residency [in Slovakia], they don't want to allow him to get on board," explains the frustrated mother of three.

"It's just one big mess and it's unfair," she says.

'When is Daddy coming home?'

Though Ivana receives as much help as can be offered from her mother and sister who visit occasionally, she admits that the stresses of suddenly becoming a single parent overnight have been challenging.

"I'm alone here with my three children," she explains. "I'm the mommy, the daddy, the teacher, the walker - I'm just tired."

On top of trying to keep a brave face for her little ones, Ivana says that her children still "miss the hugs, the kisses and the goodnight stories".

"The children are asking 'when is daddy coming home?" Says Ivana. "It's very difficult."

"We promised 'No, don't worry, daddy will be here for Christmas, we'll be together as a family'," says Ivana. "Christmas is about family, it's about being together, but it's impossible now."

"How can I explain to my children that daddy won't be here with us?"

"We're just on our own, hoping for daddy to come, hoping to be together not to be an incomplete family, but to be a complete family for Christmas, so the children will have their daddy here and we'll experience the snow together."

First published on News24