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The Forum > Article Comments > Pakistani? Afghani? Does it matter? > Comments

Pakistani? Afghani? Does it matter? : Comments

By Marilyn Shepherd, published 10/4/2006

How it was done - a lesson in how to turn an Afghani family, the Bakhtiyaris, into a Pakistani one.

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[See above!!!]
Posted by baraka, Monday, 10 April 2006 1:03:05 PM
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Oh sheesh, My heart Bleeds....

"Ali back to Baxter like a criminal" - yeah - duh! Entering the country without a visa is unlawful.

What these parents did to their children is unforgivable. They are simply unfit parents, and the gulible victims of the lies don't just stop at the innocent children dragged through the refugee process. Even people like Marilyn Shepherd was sucked into the Bakhtiyari lies.

Using a one year old to gain a family reunion visa - fair dinkum.

"..initial set back of the High Court decision they were optimistic about their future" WTF! There is nothing "initial" about the High Court! Who the hell would encourage optimism after a High Court ruling?!

Before the High Court there is the initial DIMIA rejection, the internal DIMIA appeal, the Ombudsman, the Refugee Review Tribunal, the Federal Court. In all of these, DIMIA would have had to show reason why the application was refused. One loss and the Bakhtiyaris stayed.

The problem here is that Australia is probably too nice to people who are obviously rorting the system. This costs the taxpayers a fortune. The kids with phones and parties! Oh what rough treatment when there are plenty of Australian kids without phones and parties and three square meals a day!
Posted by Narcissist, Monday, 10 April 2006 1:31:47 PM
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While there is sympathy for the children who are the innocent pawns in this game, there is none for the parents.
Sending them back was the best thing, they were not "asylum seekers", [how misused that phrase is], they were opportunists who were only too willing to live on the Australian tax payers back.
How much did they cost us, from beginning to end? It would be a huge amount and all for nothing.
Posted by mickijo, Monday, 10 April 2006 2:25:54 PM
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Actually, Ali lived as a genuine refugee in Sydney for 28 months after telling the government that he had lived and worked in the Pake Hotel, Rawalipindi, Pakistan from March 1998 until September 1999 after being tortured and imprisoned by the Taliban. His father had been murdered while he was in prison. His original statement made on 29 October 1999 can be found at www.adelaide.indymedia.org.

An example of the truth can be found at the senate site for the committee investigation into the migration act in the October 7 transcript.

It transpires the whole case against Ali was a mistaken identity.

DIMA knew he was in Sydney, knew Roqia and the children were Afghans because they had used ASIO to check the Pake Hotel and found them in 1999.

DIMA thought another Afghan man was from Pakistan, not Ali and not his wife and children.

DIMA forced a four year detention term on children they knew were always from Afghanistan and the other person deemed to be a Pakistani was in fact an Afghan, like Ali, they just came from the same district.
Posted by Marilyn Shepherd, Monday, 10 April 2006 2:40:55 PM
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Marilyn's article pushes all the right buttons and leaves the reader an emotional wreck.

I do remember the Bakhtiyari Acting Toupe being in this country. By the time they left Australia even they were unsure of their nationality.

Marilyn says in her article that one of the guards, Tess, came to realise that the children had suffered trauma and needed to be treated with care. Is there any record of the children getting psychiatric care in Indonesia for their trauma? Does the condition of trauma become more severe the further south you travel? Is there any record of psychiatric care given to those asylum seekers who are repatriated after their applications for asylum have failed? Is there any record of the ongoing psychiatric care given to successful asylum seekers?

Marilyn tells us that Roqia was considered a flight risk, so Mazhar was born under guard. The concern was that she would run from the hospital minutes after giving birth, leaving her baby and five children behind. Marilyn, do you remember the mass escape of detainees from Villawood who wanted to be left alone to practice their religion?

Marilyn says that the lawyer for the Bakhtiyaris, Jeremy Moore, was stricken after an unfavourable court verdict. At this point my rheumy eyes shed tears for the lawyer until I realised that a nice fat taxpayer cheque would have salved Jeremy's hurt.

Marilyn stated that Roqia, Ali and their children only ever wanted a free life away from the wars and dangers of Afghanistan and the precarious existence of Afghan refugees squatting in Pakistan. Indonesia, a country at peace with its citizens, offers that and more. The Bakhtiyaris, being eleutheromaniacs, could have stayed in Indonesia to enjoy a tranquil and hopefully long life. Many thousands of Australians fly to Indonesia each year for holidays.

Marilyn, this is from Dictionary.com...Kidnap: To seize and detain unlawfully and usually for ransom.

Marilyn sounds like a committed Jesuit.
Posted by Sage, Monday, 10 April 2006 2:50:30 PM
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Marilyn,

DIMIA did not FORCE any detention upon anyone. Assylum (or should I say Detention) Seekers are free to leave the country whenever they wish.

The Bakhityaris chose to stay in detention.
Posted by Narcissist, Monday, 10 April 2006 3:18:51 PM
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