Do you have questions to ask about Deaths at the hand of the Minister for Immigration,Phillip Ruddock email him at philip.ruddock.MP@aph.gov.au
cc it to the Prime Minister
john.howard.MP@aph.gov.au
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Dear Minister,
It distressed me to learn of Australia's 9th refugee Death in Custody, these visitors to Australia were supposedly under the protection of yourself and the Department of Immigration Officers.
It will be found that Fatima died in Perth as a direct consequence of your heartless policies Minister.
Fatima was loved by her husband Ali and her 3 children aged 2,4 and 7.
You said Fatima would accompany her husband Ali and her 3 children,out of the Christmas Island Detention Centre.
But now we learn Mr Ruddock , that Fatima ,finally caught up with her family in Dubai .
You lied Mr Ruddock , why did you hide Fatima?
What are you trying to hide Mr Ruddock?
Why Minister do you have so little respect for family life that you permitted her family to leave Australia for their sad and lonely journey from Christmas Island back to Afghanistan without their loved mother and wife.
It is to your eternal shame that the religious beliefs of these visitors to Australia are disrespected.
I ask that you tender your resignation as Minister for Immigration and Cultural Affairs ,as you are unsuited for the position because of your lack of sensitivity or understanding of other cultures.
You are driven purely by a hard heart.
I will remind you Minister that Fatima who was only 27 said in replying to your offer to send her to Nauru, an island with an absolute minimum of services. -" it is better to die in Afghanistan than in a strange place."
Minister you must be aware that Ali and the children face a difficult trek back to Afghanistan in icy weather. Very likely the children will not survive the winter.
While Ali could be shot, tortured or disappeared for being an Hazara - a member of a minority group in warlord dominated territory.
All this sure to happen before the Coronial Inquiry into Fatimas Death.
With no surviving members of her immediate family the outcome of the Coronial Inquiry may well be lost in the legal system,I am sure this will give you some comfort knowing there will be less personal embarrassment.
The only comfort I get will be the knowledge that you will no longer be a Minister of The Crown when the Coroner brings down his report,and that the Government you represent will have been removed by the Australian People.
The people of Australia,will not let Fatima die in vain - you will be haunted by her memory.
Terence Seymour
Fatima Erhani died after a brain haemorrhage on Sunday January 19,2003
10-30am
Charles Gairdner Hospital,Perth,Western Australia..
She had been treated for high blood pressure for 7 months,with little but Panadol as treatment.
She was under added stress because of the pressure to sign documents beig pushed at her by DIMIA
On February 25 the remaining members of her family were deported while Australia was distracted by No War On Iraq rallies.
Since then ,apparently the family were abandoned by the IOM escort in Dubai and could not fly on to Kabul because of "problems".
The insult to Fatima was further added to by allowing her body to lay unattended to on the Dubai Tarmac in the blazing sun.
Carmen Lawrence MP has written to the Minister and requested an inquiry,she has followed up with further questions.
The Afghani girl will take you to Tas Humanity's March Newsletter to read more about Fatimas treatment and Carmen's Letter,as posted to labor for refugees
Fatimas Wish
