Tamil asylum seeker's grieving family unable to attend funeral

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/16/tamil-asylum-family-unable-attend-funeral

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The grieving family of Leo Seemanpillai, a Tamil asylum seeker who took his own life by self-immolating earlier in the month, say they will be unable to attend his funeral in Geelong after the Immigration Department and the Australian High Commission in India refused to help them or grant them a visa.

Seemanpillai’s parents, who have lived in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu for over two decades, do not possess travel documents and, according to the Tamil Refugee Council in Melbourne, were “blocked at every turning” in their requests for assistance to come to Australia for their son’s funeral.

According to Tamil Refugee Council spokesman Aran Mylvaganam, who is in close contact with the family, Seemanpillai’s parents contacted the Australian High Commission in Chennai and were told to obtain temporary passports from the Sri Lankan High Commission, who would not grant them unless the family applied for the documents in Sri Lanka.

Seemanpillai’s brother, who does possess a passport, applied for a visa with the Australian High Commission, but was refused as the Australian government did not believe he would stay in Australia temporarily.

“You are unemployed, you have no savings, no assets, and you are unskilled; as such, you are in a state of financial disadvantage,” the high commission wrote to Seemanpillai’s brother in a letter seen by Guardian Australia.

The letter continues: “You have stated that your purpose in visiting Australia is to attend your brother’s funeral. I do not doubt the sincerity of your desire to pay your last respects to your late brother, however I consider that the assessment above that you do not genuinely intend temporary stay in Australia outweighs this consideration.”

Mylvaganam said Seemanpillai’s family were “devastated” at not being able to attend. “No one in a position to help them has shown any inclination to do so,” he said.

The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, had offered to return Seemanpillai’s body for burial in Sri Lanka or India, but his parents had rejected the offer, stating they feared for their safety if the funeral was held in either country.

Morrison told the ABC that the family faced “very real difficulties” in obtaining travel visas to attend the funeral and maintained it was the Immigration Department’s responsibility to assess their application.

But the Greens immigration spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the minister had the power to intervene in the applications if he chose to do so under the Migration Act.

Seemanpillai’s funeral will be held in Geelong, Victoria on Wednesday.

Many of Seemanpillai’s close friends told Guardian Australia that he had been constantly concerned about the status of his visa after he was granted only temporary protection by the Australian government and resettled in Geelong.

“He went through so much in his life, and when he came to Australia he was given a visa that is filled with plenty of uncertainty. He couldn't accept that,” said one close friend, Annan.

“Leo would always talk about his visa status … He would always worry about what would happen to him.”

The Immigration Department has been contacted for a response.