Maybe we should embark on a concerted national immigration rights/lobby
campaign????? Instead of a piecemeal approach. I know the gay and lesbian
community here have established a g&l immigration task force over the years
to lobby government and help prospective applicants.
Cheers
Fiona
Fiona A Kumari Campbell, BLS (Hons) Latrobe; JP (Qual).
PhD Candidate
School of Humanities and Social Science
Queensland University of Technology
PO Box 114 Narangba QLD 4504
Australia
Tel: + 61 7 38866714
Fax: + 61 7 38866782
Mb: 0401670954
Email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
http://members.tripod.com/FionaCampbell
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<----- Brisbane
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+++ There is no justice without mercy +++
-----Original Message-----
From: The Disability-Research Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Minae Inahara
Sent: Thursday, 5 April 2001 7:50
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Australian Immigration Rejects Family as daughter has
disability -Father sets himself alight
Dear Frank and all,
I have been feeling down since I heard this news from another mailing
list.
I know that immigration issues are very complex. Whenever I have to do
some paper work for a student visa, i have a fear of being rejected. I
am an overseas student at the University of Newcastle, in Australia. I
would love to share my personal story in regarding to immigration
issue.
I have cerebral palsy (speech difficulty). My dream from childhood was
to study in other countries. I first came to Australia (Sydney) in 1992
in order to look for a place to study. Then, I came again to Newcastle
to do my English language course for 6 months in 1993, then went back to
Japan for holiday. However, when i applied for a student visa for 3
years (my BA), I had a huge problem. (I almost gave up on my dream.)
When we apply for a student visa, we all have to do medical examinations
in our own countries. I went to the hospital in Osaka which Australian
embassy selected at the time. However, the doctor did a wrong diagnose
to my cerebral palsy. He wrote 'left-side paralysed'. Well...
honestly, I am left-handed. (Of course, I could not see the medical
document there.) Then a few week later, the embassy sent a letter to me
saying my application was rejected due to my health condition. I asked
them details for it. Then, they showed me the medical report from a
Japanese doctor. They recommended to see another doctor in Kobe, and
she wrote a letter to embassy officer. Then finally the embassy and
health department replied to me and asked my parents to take video on
me. Also, Newcastle university supported me a lot. (I do understand
my case was very difficult because I was planning to live without family
supports.)
It was terrible for my family and me to face this situation. I
realized that what the authority could do for me... it could destroy my
dream and life.
I wonder why... this little girl cannot be with her family...
Also, I think this kind of issues is all over the world. I love
travelling alone, even though i have many difficulties. Last December,
I visited my best friend in England (from this mailing list). Heathrow
was too big. Anyway, when i went through the immigration (custom) at
the airport, the officer asked me a personal question about my
disability. and why I was travelling alone. Gee... give me a break! I
was so lucky, because my friend picked up me at Heathrow. (Thank you,
michael...)
Just a thought,
Thank you
Minae Inahara
Frank Hall-Bentick wrote:
>
> Friends & Colleagues,
>
> Please register your disgust at this discrimatary Policy by Australia
> Immigration Officials that has led to this tragic outcome.
>
> Also please circulate to other lists.
>
> Phillip RuddockMinister for Immigration
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
> or http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/general/contacts.htm
>
> Senator Meg Lees Democrats
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
> Senator Chris Evans Opposition Spokesperson for Disability Services
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
> Withholding hope from refugees
> Melbourne "Age" Editorial
>
> Thursday 5 April 2001
>
> In 1996 Shahraz Kayani from Pakistan was granted
> asylum in Australia.
> He was allowed to stay after the authorities assessing
> his case were
> satisfied that he fulfilled the provisions of the
> humanitarian program. But
> although Mr Kayani had been granted residency in a
> stable democracy,
> his troubles were far from over. His application for
> his wife and three
> children to join him under the program's “split
> family” provisions was
> denied because one of the children is disabled and it
> was deemed that she
> would place too great a burden on the taxpayer. The
> Commonwealth
> Ombudsman intervened and a new application was made
> last September
> but, on Monday, the wait had been too long and too
> painful for Mr
> Kayani. He went to Parliament House in Canberra,
> doused himself in
> accelerant and set himself alight. His burns are so
> severe that his chances
> of survival are considered to be slim but, even so,
> Immigration Minister
> Philip Ruddock has said that decisions in the Kayani
> case “are not going
> to be determined under duress”.
>
> But what will make the government pay attention to the
> plight of the
> Kayanis? Five years is a significant proportion of a
> child's life, and too
> long for a father to wait to be reunited with his wife
> and children. It was
> reasonable for Mr Kayani to expect that if he was
> eligible for asylum in
> this country, his immediate family would be too. Many
> asylum seekers are
> driven by a desire to provide a better life for their
> children. Mr Kayani
> was in a more desperate situation than most because of
> his daughter's
> disability. According to the logic of the heart, such
> a situation calls for
> prompt and compassionate action, but immigration
> officials, implementing
> a policy driven chiefly by concern for the bottom
> line, decided that the
> disability meant that no more help would be extended
> to the Kayanis. This
> is cruel and discriminatory, reflects badly on
> Australia and has had a
> devastating effect on the Kayanis. Relatives of the
> Kayanis have now
> offered to pay for the disabled daughter's medical
> costs and are
> concerned that the family will be punished further
> because of Mr Kayani's
> action. “We did want to make clear that what happened
> to Mr Kayani
> was not done in a deliberate act of trying to create a
> problem,” said Victor
> Rebikoff, a family representative.
>
> Australian officials have been so intent on
> discouraging asylum seekers
> from queue jumping that they have come to resemble
> those Dickensian
> villains who delight in punishing the needy and
> tormenting the vulnerable. A
> plastic surgeon has said that if Mr Kayani survives he
> will be “horribly,
> horribly scarred”. The pity of it is that, if the
> government had dealt with his
> case swiftly and with compassion, his suffering could
> have been avoided.
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/04/05/FFXAPIIY3LC.html
>
> http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/2001/04/05/FFXHHHIY3LC.html
>
> Thanks.
>
> Frank Hall-Bentick
> President
> Disability Australia Ltd
>
> ________________End of message______________________
>
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--------------------------------------------------------------
Minae Inahara
Ph.D. Candidate and Online tutor,
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The University of Newcastle
Callaghan, NSW, 2308
Australia
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