Refugees

[dreamer_easy]

Great letter in Saturday's SMH:

I could have become one of the Australian citizens and residents being detained and/or deported. Last year I received a letter from the Department of Immigration. The letter started "Dear Ms Sutherland" and referred to "your application" and the department's regret that it had been refused. It informed me that "You are entitled to apply for a review of this decision." The letter concluded: "Should you decide not to seek a review, you should depart Australia within the current validity of your substantive or bridging visa."

I wrote in reply asking what I should do about my Australian passport, which I had by virtue of the fact that I was born in Victoria some 60 years ago of Australian parents. I was also concerned as to who would look after my cat.

What happens when such a letter is received by those with less grasp of their standing?

Emily Sutherland Largs Bay (SA)

Elsewhere in the papers:

More on Naomi Leong, the three year old born in detention. Naomi's mother, like many detainees, is seriously mentally ill. "Every time [Naomi] sees me upset and feeling sad she bangs her head against the wall. But there's nowhere I can hide. I am unstable and screaming all the time. I cannot help it."

More about the seriously mentally ill detainees neglected in Baxter.

Comments

[kitzen-kat.livejournal.com]

Just reading about Naomi makes me want to cry - cry for her and her mum, and to cry for the harsh country that we've become.

OK, TMI.