Pagina's

dinsdag, februari 10, 2004

Nederland is niet uniek.

Sri Lankan girl facing deportation deteriorating

Lawyers fighting to keep a sexually abused Sri Lankan teenager in New Zealand say she is not eating properly, her mental and physical condition is deteriorating almost daily and she spends most of her time hiding under her bed.
The 16-year-old girl and her grandmother fled to New Zealand in 2002 to escape what they say is the sexual abuse by her family in Sri Lanka but is facing deportation after the Government refused to grant her refugee status. Her lawyers say if she is returned to Sri Lanka she would face abuse and possible death at the hands of the family and the man who raped and sexually abused her for years.
She is being held in the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre in south Auckland where her lawyer Philippa Cunningham said she had been spending most of her time hiding under her bed. "She has the sheet pulled down so it is like a curtain. She is absolutely terrified. She doesn't even trust her grandmother any more." The grandmother had said she would get her to New Zealand where she would be safe and that had not happened, Ms Cunningham said.
The girl's future would be decided by associate immigration minister Damien O'Connor, who was given a psychiatric report yesterday commissioned by the Immigration Service and prepared by South African psychiatrist Dr Craig Immelman. She said she was "very comfortable" with Dr Immelman's report which said she was physically not up to flying. "It also says she is absolutely terrified of going back."
Ms Cunningham said she was "absolutely gob-smacked. I couldn't believe it was happening in New Zealand". She said she hoped to get an urgent response from Mr O'Connor in the next day or two. "I really hope it is today because the report he now has makes it clear that every day counts."
(Bron)

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