Matthew Shi and Jill Sperling on their wedding day (Image Credit: Karizma Photography)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID SEPARATION

Spouses, families hope for reunification amid travel restrictions and border closures

May 27, 2020 | 5:08 PM

KAMLOOPS — The first year of marriage is widely touted as a difficult learning curve, but for Jill Sperling and Matthew Shi, their time as newlyweds is being put to the test.

“It was really scary for a long time,” explains Sperling, “I was worried that Matt would catch something, and then we would be in a situation where I couldn’t visit him, and I wouldn’t know how well he was doing.”

After they were married in August of last year, the couple is still waiting on their immigration paperwork to go through so they can be together full-time. Currently, Jill resides in Kamloops while Matt lives in Seattle.

Recently, Matt tried to re-enter the country to be with his wife, but was turned away at the border.

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“It was pretty disappointing at first. Because we had read through all the paperwork that we could find,” he says. “We were looking at other people’s stories of what they’ve done, and we were seeing just a mixed bag of success stories and a lot of unsuccessful attempts.”

Shi had brought all documentation that would have been required to enter as well as his quarantine plan for border officers to review.

“We thought that potentially because he’s a spouse, he would be able to come to Canada,” adds Sperling, “But because he doesn’t have any status in Canada, he wasn’t able to come here.”

Some families have made do with the Peace Arch park — neutral ground between Canada and the U.S — but for Jill and Matt’s situation, they’d still be six feet apart.

“I don’t want to bring anything back to my workplace,” says Sperling, who is a journalist with CFJC Today. “I want to be responsible, especially because I’m out there every day saying, ‘Make sure you’re physically distancing’ in all of my stories. So I don’t want to be a hypocrite in that way; I want to make sure that I’m being responsible during this time.”

Throughout the pandemic, news stories have surfaced depicting racist incidents against people of Asian descent. This adds a new layer of worry for the couple while they’re apart, given that Matt is Chinese-American.

“You’ve got to be aware of your surroundings, and that’s something that I’ve never really had to worry too much about it,” explains Shi, “but (Jill) kind of sees those stories and always wonders, ‘Is that going to ever happen?'”

While Jill and Matt don’t wish to be living apart, they agree that the border should not be open right now. But they’re hopeful an exemption will be made soon to allow immediate family and spouses to re-connect.

“It’s scary enough to be in a pandemic, but then to also be alone and be apart from your spouse is even more difficult.”

For other families, like Henry Small’s, time abroad is not unusual, but now it comes with heightened concern, as they see how other countries have been hit hard by the virus.

“My son works in San Francisco, but [his employers] said he could work from Vancouver. So he’s with his fiance in Vancouver, along with my other son, so I’m happy about that,” he notes. “And my daughter is in England, in London. And that’s tough.”

Usually, Small says he’d be planning to visit family in Florida, or see his daughter, but those plans to visit international destinations have been put on hold, and there’s no concrete date for when regular travel would resume.

Technology has helped somewhat, as Small says he’s able to talk to his kids regularly, but it’s definitely not the same as in-person visits.

“I mean screen talk, all that stuff is wonderful to have — that’s for sure, but it sure would be nice to hug.”