A Bangladeshi family is facing deportation next month after their petition for permanent residency was denied due to their six-year-old son’s mild disability.
Adyan bin Hasan and parents Dr Mahedi Hasan Bhuiyan and Dr Rebaka Sultana, were refused residency in 2015 after the government said their son did not meet the necessary health criteria to remain in Australia.
Adyan, who was born in the country, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy which prevents him from picking up heavy things or climbing.
The Department of Home Affairs ruled against the family’s plea to stay in country, saying the boy would require ‘ongoing therapy support’ and therefore be considered a burden on the country’s health system.
Six-year-old Adyan bin Hasan (pictured) and parents Dr Mahedi Hasan Bhuiyan and Dr Rebaka Sultana, were refused permanent residency in 2015 after the boy’s health condition was considered a burden on the country’s health system
Adyan, who was born in Geelong, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy. His parents say despite the diagnosis, he is developing like any other normal child
A subsequent appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was unsuccessful as the governing body said they could not overturn the little boy’s health assessment.
The family’s only hope now is for Immigration Minister David Coleman to intervene in their case and appeal the decision – otherwise they’ll be given two weeks to pack up and go to back to Bangladesh.
Dr Bhuiyan told the Geelong Advertiser the family has been living ‘in limbo’ and he has been struggling to concentrate at work with their potential deportation looming.
Their temporary visas have been extended until March 24 as they wait for a final decision, he said.
Despite Adyan’s diagnosis, the boy’s father said medical reports show he is cognitively developing like any other normal child.
His parents say Adyan, who loves going to the library in his hometown of Geelong, Victoria, requires limited physiotherapy and help from an occupational therapist.
‘He is independent in his physical movement – Adyan loves to run, jump and play like any other [6] year old, carefree kid,’ they wrote in a Change.org petition that has gained more than 26,00 signatures so far.
Dr Bhuiyan migrated to Australia from Bangladesh in 2011 and married Dr Sultana, who came from the same country, in 2012.
Adyan, who was born in Geelong, suffered a stroke at birth and now lives with a very mild form of cerebral palsy. His parents say despite the diagnosis, he is developing like any other normal child
Dr Bhuiyan, a university researcher, said his son would face social discrimination if he was forced to live in Bangladesh
Dr Bhuiyan, a university researcher, said his son would face social discrimination if he was forced to live in Bangladesh.
‘No-one (would) want to socialise with him,’ Dr Mahedi told ABC News in November. ‘They think if the other child meets with him it will be contagious.’
Dr Mahedi had been offered a job at Melbourne’s Deakin University, while her mother is hoping to take an exam enabling her to be a qualified GP in Australia.
The government have already warned the family though the minister only overturns decisions in the case of compelling compassionate or humanitarian factors.
‘It is so important to us Adyan continues to develop as a normal kid in Australia, the only home he has ever known,’ Dr Mahedi wrote in an online petition to Mr Coleman.
‘We are afraid that if Adyan is deported to my old home of Bangladesh, his development-related therapy will stop,’ he said.
Dr Mahedi added that despite the Department of Home Affairs finding his son’s health issues would be a burden on the taxpayer, his family paid the costs of Adyan’s treatment themselves.
‘We are hardworking, self-sufficient parents who have built a life for our son in this beautiful country.
‘Now we are under immense stress and are counting each day that passes, fearing possible deportation.’