How this battle began
Originally posted: Friday 29 October, 2010 – 09:06
It is nearly 10 months ago, yet it seems like a lifetime. I met my husband. I was just helping him with some paperwork, but we fell in love. I was impressed with his integrity, his love for his children and his fervent desire to just live a normal life after six years of wandering the world trying to find a safe haven. A small part of that history can be found at Seven Years Ago. The last two years were spent here, in this land of plenty I still call home – for the moment. Perhaps not for much longer.
At the time, my husband was adamant that his visa was coming “soon” and due to his cultural values and beliefs, he could not enter into a formal relationship until, quote: “I get my visa, can get a job and feel like a man again. It is very important that I be able to provide.”
Unfortunately, I met him too late in this saga. unbeknownst to us, Australia was already planning his removal.
In what was just another bungle in two years of bureaucratic bungles, his legal representation did not turn up to what was, in hindsight, a vital meeting. My husband was snatched back into detention in preparation for “removal”.
My husband was blackmailed to undergo a medical in order to see me. The Manager of the Detention Centre was not going to allow the visit. I demanded to see the medical staff. She said I could not. I said I will sit down until you decide I can.
Eventually I was allowed a visit.
When my husband was placed back in detention, I felt like I am sure many girlfriends have felt in the past when war was declared and their soldier boyfriends were notified of being shipped out. Many of those couples got married before the soldier shipped out; had that option been available to us, we would have taken it. We weren’t given the time – my husband was gone in the blink of an eye.
Sent back to the country he fled in fear of his life. Back to where the scars on his body were inflicted. Back to where his father was murdered and his sisters are missing, presumed dead. Back to a life of hiding and fear and trying to stay alive.
Six weeks later I go to him and we marry. I am now the mother of four young children that I can’t kiss goodnight. I am the wife of a man I can’t touch, hug, kiss…….
Exactly one month after the wedding our partner visa application was lodged.
And so the waiting began………… with it the fight to slay Goliath: departmental red tape.
Correspondence goes unanswered. Phone calls are ignored. I am told my case is not as important as another case because in that case there has been an attempted suicide. Another office tells me too many letters of distress are received for that office to be able to deal with them.
My family’s safety is placed at risk by documents being made available to people who should NEVER have had access to the information in a country where information is a valuable commodity for sale to the highest bidder.
Procedural fairness is denied. The department advises me in a phone call (that I asked for on medical advice) that “new information has come in” making the case “complicated”. What is this new information, I ask? The caller doesn’t know. Has this information been made available to our lawyer? No, it has not. (Edit: It subsequently transpires that there is actually NO new information, the caller was it seems, confused.) (Yet later edit: There was indeed “new information” – just I was lied to about it despite the fact it was the central theme of the Decision.)
I contact the Australian Human Rights Commission and lodge a complaint under Articles 17 and 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The stress is debilitating. Partner visas are seen as a very “private” matter by the community at large, so trying to get support is difficult – there are no organisations fighting for the rights of people in love – it is a personal battle we must fight.
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Wow, what a story! Thanks for linking with Pick A Post!
Thanks Dr Bron! Glad you stopped by and enjoyed.
Thanks, Tinkerbelle. It was tough.
Oh Robyn this is the most heartbreaking situation. I am in tears while writing this. What happened to human right Eh? So unfair how someone you don’t even know has a hold over your life. Your determination is much to be admired. I know I would be on the road to mental rehabilitation by this stage. What a wonderful lady you are. I feel our application doesn’t even have half the stuff you had, but to be honest I am giving them everything I have so I can’t give much more. Just want to see the back of the forms, so roll on Monday
:) Thanks for the inspiration too, at least I know if we are refused with our difficult sitaution there are options.
Leanne
Thank Leanne. Hey – didn’t want to make you cry! Yes, the ICCPR does specifically address marriage.
You have a lot of stuff we didn’t have, I think.
I have edited your name.
Good luck!
What an absolute nightmare. I’m hopeful that my partner’s upcoming application doesn’t run into to much drama. It seems to me that the intention of our current immigration system is understandable the implementation and allocated resources are seriously lacking.
I wish you all the best and hope you’re able to achieve your personal goals as well as those in relation to driving systemic change.
Hi MJB, good luck to you too. If you are new at this, you may get some surprises. I sure did. Hope you find my current series of articles useful.
I was about to click on the “like” button, but this in hindsight didn’t seem appropriate. There’s nothing to “like” about what you’ve experienced!
Thanks for sharing your story!
Thanks for being interested in our situation. We appreciate the support and understanding very much.
Please accept my simple best wishes for a successful resolution to this awful situation. That resources, time and energy take away from such a simple direction. Will keep in touch with hopes of good news for you and your family soon.
Thank you Patti. Soon, very soon, I hope to receive news!
Wow, what a battle. I don’t understand the mind of your captors in this situation, how anyone can be evil in denying you and your husband the pleasure of enjoying a life together, it’s beyond my apprehension as I find so unbelieveable things goes on in this matter anywhere in the world. How one can be so unfeeling and cruel in this act of behavior. I truly wish you the best, and I pray God will intervene this matter for you and your husband.
I’m not sure if it is evil or not – certainly lacking empathy, cultural intelligence and a few other human attributes – treating people like inanimate objects. I’ve felt like a manilla folder in a filing cabinet many times.
Wow, this is truly moving. I very much appreciate you sharing your story — I hope you get this blog as much publicity as you can, because this seems so wrong to me and I don’t think this kind of treatment should slip under the rug. People need to know what’s going on. Best of luck to you
That you for your support. Slipping under the rug is eactly what I think does happen. People get so “freaked out” by what happens they just want to forget and move on when it is over. So change never happens.
Hopefullt if I can even change one small thing…….
Robyn,
Thanks for your reassuring reply. I hope you can visit J in the near future. Please keep safe when travelling, as I want to see your beautiful smile again. I would hate for you to disappear and not contact me. I remain your concerned friend. Suzie.
Even if I do leave, Susie, I am not going to another planet – just another country. Most of those even have phones these days, even if the electricity supply is somewhat spasmodic. New Zealand is one option we are looking at – we shall see how it goes. That is only a hop, skip and a jump away. But the MRT here is our first challenge.
Robyn, I can appreciate how desperate and hopeless you must feel with his visa being denied. But please give yourself time to calm down and think logically. Don’t throw away your job, home, children, friends and life in Australia without planning a future. This might seem crude, but I feel you have too much to lose before jumping into an unknown uncertain life. Of course, I will always support you where possible. Love from Suzie.
Very careful consideration, I assure you. We are looking at every avenue at the moment. It will not be a hasty decision – although I am going to visit him.