Edit Nov 15: It has been reported the baby and family are now reunited, but ONLY because the baby has been discharged from hospital. No changes to policy or regulations or standing orders or whatever red tape controls these things, so what of the next case and the case after that? We need to keep saying we, the people, do not want this. 

Just in: SIGN THE PETITION! http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/scott-morrison-let-this-mother-be-with-her-newborn-baby This petition has been set up by Dom Rowe.

Today it has been reported Australia’s “Christian” Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, has separated a mother, Latifa, from her then four day old baby, locking her up in detention 18 hours a day. Latifa may visit the baby between 10 am and 4 pm each day. Latifa has already spent nearly TEN YEARS in a refugee camp in Malaysia. So much for the oft-cited orderly queues!

She was separated from her baby on Sunday, four days after a caesarean delivery, and has since been allowed to visit him only between 10am and 4pm in Brisbane’s Mater Hospital. The boy, named Farus, has respiratory problems and needs round-the-clock medical care.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/asylum-seeker-mother-kept-from-newborn-baby-in-brisbane-20131113-2xh5v.html#ixzz2kb7PaNBR

There are two issues here. The first and most important is this baby and mother need to be reunited. A Facebook page has been set up by the lovely Alana Lentin to support the cause. Visit http://www.facebook.com/bubsbelongwithmums to show you DO NOT agree with Australia’s inhumane treatment. There are a lot of other articles posted there by equally concerned writers.

There are concerns around maternal bonding, breastfeeding and a host of other neonatal issues I won’t go into here. Any parent is well aware. How this mother’s heart must break each day as she is forced from her baby’s side.

Former health minister Tanya Plibersek says she does not know the specifics of the case, but says mothers and babies should not be separated.

“I think it’s very important for mother and baby to be allowed to be together to bond,” she said.

“Those early hours and days are critical for the health of the mother and the baby, including for things like establishing breastfeeding, which we know is the best possible start to give any baby.”

Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-14/morrison-defends-limiting-asylum-seekers-time-with-baby/5091458

I am sure Scott Morrison will say the government has a mandate to make the “hard” decisions to govern Australia. Hard decisions I’ll buy, however we, Australians, need to show the government they have NO mandate to make inhumane decisions. Think back to when you had your child or children, if you have children: how would you have coped? Latifa is NOT a criminal, she has not broken any laws, she is the mother of a new baby. A sick new baby.

Tell Scott Morrison he does not have your support.

This baby is also stateless. It seems there is some surprise over this on social media, but there should not be. Australia’s laws on citizenship by birth are VERY clear:

Children born after that date are only Australian citizens if at least one parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time of their birth.

There is another, not so obvious, issue here. I have this habit of recollecting inconsistencies in public pronouncements.

The article quoted above goes on to say “Earlier scans had indicated she was carrying twins but it was discovered when she arrived in Brisbane she was carrying one child.” Scans these days are pretty accurate – not 100%, but pretty damn accurate. The reason this sentence at the bottom of the article jumped out at me was because of the furor a while ago about a woman pregnant with twins having been sent to Nauru. I wrote about the case on this site back on October 15. Check the comments – one in particular is on the ball! Morrison later castigated the media for, essentially, reporting things that weren’t true. I edited my article to include his denial.

Now it is reported Latifa was believed, at some stage at least, to be carrying twins. She has been brought from Nauru. I’m a little confused. If it was believed she was carrying twins from a scan and it was only discovered when she arrived in Brisbane there was only one baby, what was Scott Morrison’s denial a month ago all about? What on earth is going on? This indicates to me she was sent to Nauru when it was believed she was carrying twins. Or am I completely missing something here? Do enlighten me if I am!

Oh, no, I am not confused at all! Sky News:

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has been accused of being tricky after it was revealed an asylum seeker he previously denied existed was flown from Nauru to Brisbane to give birth.

The 31-year-old Rohingyan woman from Myanmar was flown to Brisbane to give birth on October 11, days before a press conference where the minister denied she existed.

‘My information is she was transferred from Nauru to Australia on the 11th of October,’ Mr Morrison said.

On October 18 Mr Morrison responded to questions from journalists about the woman by denying her existence.

Morrison defends pregnant asylum answers (skynews.com.au)

Tricky? I have a much stronger word I’ll keep to myself for the moment.

Earlier this week I wrote an article about the same Department spinning me a tale about the justification for Partner Visa fees. The facts did not support the statement at all. Only a few people seemed to see the same problem I did with that situation: Partner Visa fees are a small, small issue compared with many other issues. If I can’t get a straight answer about something that affects roughly 40,000 people a year, what other answers are we being given that remind one of the Ministry of Truth in “1984”? Now, a mere couple of days later, we have this issue of the twins just not quite making sense again, just being “tricky”.

Tricky – or rewriting the facts, 1984-style? You decide, because this is, after all, your government, our government (whether you voted for them or not).

There is no doubting the whole family should be with bub, however it is the maternal bonding and breastfeeding that is of paramount concern. The hashtag is not meant to disenfranchise fathers in any way. The title of this article was chosen to draw attention to the Twitter hashtag #BubsBelongWithMums, created with a neonatal focus due to the case. There is NO element of anti-gay adoption to the title of this article or the Twitter hashtag.

New Articles on November 15:

• Brisbane hospital rejects Morrison’s claims (ABC)
• Asylum policy of deterrence threatening families (The Age)

Other Related articles:

• Mother locked up, kept from baby (smh.com.au)
• Calls to relocate pregnant asylum seeker from Nauru (abc.net.au)
• Asylum seeker flown off Nauru to give birth in Australia fears for her children’s lives (abc.net.au)
• ‘The most diabolical situation for a mother’ (news.optuszoo.com.au)