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Speaker 1: Now. Yesterday on the show, you would have heard me

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Speaker 1: read out a message from a concerned territory and wanting

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Speaker 1: to make us aware of a Darwin family currently stuck

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Speaker 1: in Israel amongst the war. The Palmerston family had to

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Speaker 1: flee from Tel Aviv on Saturday to somewhere safer before

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Speaker 1: heading back to Tel Aviv, as I understand it, yesterday

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Speaker 1: as they were told that it meant they would be

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Speaker 1: safer there. They can't get out any earlier. They've got

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Speaker 1: flights booked back to Darwin, as I understand it, on Wednesday,

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Speaker 1: which is actually Thursday night, Darwin time. And some of

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Speaker 1: the stories coming out of Israel right now are absolutely horrible.

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Speaker 1: Children and babies reportedly being killed. It's not only horrible,

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Speaker 1: but it's absolutely unimaginable. Now joining me on the line

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Speaker 1: from Tel Aviv is Asha Lily. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Asha, Hi Katie, how are you today?

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Speaker 1: I think I'm in a much better place than you

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Speaker 1: right now? Can you tell us exactly where you are?

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Speaker 2: So we're currently in Tel Aviv, right, yeah, right now.

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Speaker 2: We arrived back here yesterday morning.

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Speaker 1: And Asha, you're traveling, you're from Palmerston. You're traveling with

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Speaker 1: your family, and you're obviously in Israel on holidays, is

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Speaker 1: that correct?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, we came here to visit my parents' really

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Speaker 2: close family friend who they've known for just before I

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Speaker 2: was born. So he's actually Australian but he now lived

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Speaker 2: in Israel with his wife and their three daughters.

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Speaker 1: Asha, when did you first learn of that horrendous attack

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Speaker 1: that had happened on Sunday and when things were starting

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Speaker 1: to go badly?

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Speaker 2: So we woke up Saturday morning to sirens and we

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Speaker 2: were then told it's all good, basically because it's not

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Speaker 2: necessarily an unheard of thing in Israel for Fiens to go.

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Speaker 2: We then went out for breakfast and as we were

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Speaker 2: walking back, we heard the Firroens go again and then

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Speaker 2: actually saw missiles flying overhead and we had to quickly

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Speaker 2: run and hide. And from then that was kind of

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Speaker 2: when the news started to kind of come out about

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Speaker 2: what was actually happening and about what we've actually found

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Speaker 2: ourselves in the middle of. So yeah, it was pretty terrifying,

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Speaker 2: to say the least.

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Speaker 1: Azure for most of us here in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: You know, we cannot even imagine what it feels like

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Speaker 1: right now, can you paint a bit of a picture

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Speaker 1: for us as to, you know, to where you are

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Speaker 1: and what it's been like over the last couple of days.

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Speaker 2: We're really lucky to have our friends here who have

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Speaker 2: been so supportive and have kept us safe, but it's

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Speaker 2: still been absolutely terrifying. We've been having to My sister

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Speaker 2: and I were sleeping in a bomb shelter and we

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Speaker 2: actually yesterday afternoon had to go on to lockdown as

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Speaker 2: the town near us had been invaded basically, and they

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Speaker 2: were missiles and we could hear open fire happening, which

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Speaker 2: was just so scary to be that close to anything

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Speaker 2: like that. It's just something you never expect to find

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Speaker 2: yourself in. And I just I can't even begin to

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Speaker 2: describe how scared and just not knowing what every hour

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Speaker 2: will bring you. You just don't know. One hour could

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Speaker 2: be quiet and you could feel like it's okay, and

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Speaker 2: then you know the next hour you're just wondering, am

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Speaker 2: I even going to make it out of this? So, yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's been horrible.

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Speaker 1: Oh how's your whole family feeling at this point? Because

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Speaker 1: I would imagine that there's also a lot of uncertainty

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Speaker 1: in terms of trying to get back. I know you've

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Speaker 1: got flights booked, but where are things at with those?

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Speaker 2: So currently we're looked in on a flight which is leaving,

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Speaker 2: so I'm sorry, I'm stuck with days tomorrow. Yeah, so

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Speaker 2: we are just honestly hoping. We kind of can't think

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Speaker 2: about what would happen if the flight doesn't go because

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Speaker 2: we just really don't know what we would do. So

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Speaker 2: I guess we're just trying to stay positive and just

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Speaker 2: hoping that our flight takes off and we're able to

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Speaker 2: get out of here.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I think that is the only way that

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Speaker 1: you can be right now thinking that yep, you are

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Speaker 1: going to be heading out and heading back to Australia

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Speaker 1: as was there any capacity for you to be able

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Speaker 1: to change your flight? So you're flying with Quantus because

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Speaker 1: there's also been reports that they're charging people in arm

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Speaker 1: in a lake to be able to get out.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so luckily we're flying with Emirates, but we've heard

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Speaker 2: from other people that when they went to change their flights,

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Speaker 2: Quantas were charging through the roof for them to be

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Speaker 2: able to change it. I've heard that they've since changed that,

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Speaker 2: but the fact that that even happened in the first

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Speaker 2: place is just, in my opinion, appalling when most other

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Speaker 2: airlines were allowing people to just change their flights free

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Speaker 2: of charbe. So we tried to change our flight, but

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Speaker 2: most flights only had one seat, and we wanted to

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Speaker 2: try and stay together if we could, so the earliest

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Speaker 2: we could go was Wednesday Wednesday night, so we're just

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Speaker 2: sticking with that.

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Speaker 1: And in terms of like getting to the airport and

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Speaker 1: that kind of thing, is you know, is the passage

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Speaker 1: for you to be able to get there? Are like

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Speaker 1: is it all? I mean, I don't even know if

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Speaker 1: it's a stupid thing to ask, is it safe for

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Speaker 1: you to be able to get there?

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Speaker 2: I mean, we just we had to catch the train

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Speaker 2: yesterday from the north of It's Row to tell Aviv,

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Speaker 2: and we just again couldn't even really think about what

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Speaker 2: we would do if something happened while we're on the train,

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Speaker 2: or if myselves were around while we were on the train.

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Speaker 2: It's a little bit like life kind of keeps on

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Speaker 2: going here in tele Aviv. There's still taxi drivers and

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Speaker 2: all of that stuff, but it's definitely a bit of

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Speaker 2: a growth Channe since then, so our hotel has said

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Speaker 2: that they've got a taxi driver ready for us to go.

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Speaker 2: We're just gonna go straight from here to the airport

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Speaker 2: and we're just again going to keep hoping that that

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Speaker 2: just happens and that it'll all be okay.

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Speaker 1: ASUA, has the Australian government been supportive and communicate to you,

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Speaker 1: what's it been like in terms of trying to get

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Speaker 1: some support or communication from the Australian government.

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Speaker 2: It's been completely lacking. So we called the embassy on

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Speaker 2: Saturday night and registered our details with them, and since

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Speaker 2: then we received one email and then we finally received

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Speaker 2: a phone call about eight hours ago, just telling us

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Speaker 2: the same things, just to check flights and to keep

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Speaker 2: checking a smart Traveler website, which I just don't feel

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Speaker 2: like it's good enough. I don't expect a free flight

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Speaker 2: back to Australia, I understand, but it's not as easy

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Speaker 2: as clicking your fingers, but even just an email or

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Speaker 2: a call asking how we're going, explaining that they're doing

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Speaker 2: what they can to try and keep us safe. It's

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Speaker 2: just there's just been no communication. We've had more info

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Speaker 2: from our travel agents than we have the Australian government,

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Speaker 2: and I just don't feel like it's good enough. What's

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Speaker 2: the point of having embassies in these other countries when

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Speaker 2: they're not even here to actually support us when things

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Speaker 2: hit the fan?

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Speaker 1: Well, there's literally, literally you're in a war zone. And

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Speaker 1: if you can't get that support from the Australian Embassy

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Speaker 1: at that point in time, when can you?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? Literally, And I was actually stuck in London through

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty and this is the exact same thing that happened,

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Speaker 2: So it's not like it's a first time thing. The

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Speaker 2: embassy just needs to All of the embassies just need

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Speaker 2: to start doing better and actually support the Australian people. Otherwise,

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Speaker 2: what's the point of them, what's the point of having

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Speaker 2: them there?

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Speaker 1: I think it's a fair question. I know that the

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Speaker 1: Federal Opposition right now is calling on the government to

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Speaker 1: have some repatriation flights coming out of of Israel. Do

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Speaker 1: you think that that's a good idea?

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Speaker 2: Oh, one hundred percent. I just we've met lots of

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Speaker 2: Ozzies through our weeks of being here, and a lot

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Speaker 2: of them were older Australians and so I just wonder

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Speaker 2: how they're getting their information, you know, how they're able

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Speaker 2: to Some probably don't even have a SIM card, so

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Speaker 2: I just think that it's necessary. Other countries have been

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Speaker 2: able to do it within twenty four hours. So it's

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Speaker 2: nearly day five and we've received email and a phone

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Speaker 2: call telling us to check Smart Traveler. It's just again

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Speaker 2: not good enough, and I think the bare minimums to

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Speaker 2: organized flights even just sit you by, just to at

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Speaker 2: least get ozzies out of here.

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Speaker 1: Asure. I know the Foreign Minister Penny Wong says that

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Speaker 1: the government's looking at all options to help Australian citizens

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Speaker 1: leave Israel, but it doesn't sound like you're feeling that

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Speaker 1: that is the case at the moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, I'm not feeling good at all. We

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Speaker 2: haven't even heard anything from Penny Wong the whole time

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Speaker 2: until I think it was yesterday when I and a

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Speaker 2: friend say, oh, Penny said that she's helping Australians get out,

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Speaker 2: and I said, well, that would be really nice for

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Speaker 2: her to tell us that, because right now we feel

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Speaker 2: so alone and so isolated, and we have no idea

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Speaker 2: what to do.

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Speaker 1: Oh Asha, I cannot, like I said earlier, I cannot

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Speaker 1: even imagine how you and your family must be feeling

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Speaker 1: at this point in time. I bet you just cannot

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Speaker 1: wait to get back to your home in Palmerston.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I literally have never been so excited to be

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Speaker 2: back in Pumston, which is a funny thing to say that. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I really just I feel lucky that we can even

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Speaker 2: leave this and that we have a home to go

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Speaker 2: to in a safe country.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, you're so right. I mean, honestly, some of

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Speaker 1: the stories that are coming out today are just herrin

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Speaker 1: you know. There are reports of children and babies being killed.

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Speaker 1: It is. It's just such a terribly frightening and sad situation.

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Speaker 1: And you're right, you know, you're so lucky to be

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Speaker 1: from a country like Australia. We all are, and I

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Speaker 1: just hope that you guys can get home safely and

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Speaker 1: quickly as soon as possible.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much. Yeah, we are hoping and praying

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Speaker 2: go to you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Asha, when you get back or please keep

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Speaker 1: us up to date and we'll do the same. You know,

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Speaker 1: we will certainly put in a request as well to

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Speaker 1: the federal government to find out exactly what they are

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Speaker 1: doing to try to ensure that people like yourself and

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Speaker 1: your family get home as quickly as possible. So we

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Speaker 1: will do our best to try and help you from

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Speaker 1: this side of things, and please keep us up to

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Speaker 1: date and let us know how things are going from

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Speaker 1: your side.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely will. Thank you so much. I really

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Speaker 2: appreciate that, and I know that all of the others,

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Speaker 2: let us stuck over here, would appreciate it as well.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Asha, thank you so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 1: I know it's very early and I know that we've

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Speaker 1: woken you up, so I really appreciate you speaking with us.

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Speaker 2: No, that's fine, Thank you so much. I finally got

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Speaker 2: to sleep after not sleeping over the past four days.

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Speaker 2: But that's okay. This was worth thank you.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, Asha,