Deport Fears For Visa Girl

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hi Guys,

She is on Channel ten news tonight - I am still in Australia and was following this wiith some interest!

I will advise if she hits the othe channels as well. Maybe I can do something??

Kindest Stefan

more emails to politicians

I hear that Senator Cheesgake will capitulate Bronc

[surin]

I would just like to add my best wishes for whatever that is worth that the Oz authorities show some compassion to little Plarm as she would have a very good opportunity to achieve anything she wants in the future just by being in Australia.

With a few exceptions it is a wonderful country.

We should not judge Australia or any other country for that matter by the sometimes vitrioic rantings of a few their "denizens" (people) as has been seen in recent postings

I plan to contact the Thai Consul-General in Brisbane today,and ask if he can intervene

Dr. Pat.....He won't intervene, but the latest news is that she has another 1 month temp visa. She only has to hang in there for another few months and we will have a Govt. that cares!!

[surin]

Hi Guys,

She is on Channel ten news tonight - I am still in Australia and was following this wiith some interest!

I will advise if she hits the othe channels as well. Maybe I can do something??

Kindest Stefan

more emails to politicians

I hear that Senator Cheesgake will capitulate Bronc

I'll try and do a 2 minuter for you caring guys this week in Parlt. Keep the pressure on the Feds.

[brownsugar]

I saw Plarm on channel 7(on today tonight???), she & grandparents were interviewed. I hope Amanda Vanstone intervenes and grants her permanent residency.

I applaud the efforts of you guys on her behalf.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I would just like to add my best wishes for whatever that is worth that the Oz authorities show some compassion to little Plarm as she would have a very good opportunity to achieve anything she wants in the future just by being in Australia.

With a few exceptions it is a wonderful country.

We should not judge Australia or any other country for that matter by the sometimes vitrioic rantings of a few their "denizens" (people) as has been seen in recent postings

I plan to contact the Thai Consul-General in Brisbane today,and ask if he can intervene

Dr. Pat.....He won't intervene, but the latest news is that she has another 1 month temp visa. She only has to hang in there for another few months and we will have a Govt. that cares!!

He intervened Surin. Both sides of politics at the Federal level, and he turned up at the Immigration Department protest meeting. Try for us please. This is a worthwhile case.

[george]

Update:

Injunction eases fears of Thai girl's deportation

THE north Queensland family of a 12-year-old Thai girl who yesterday faced a possible deportation after her bridging visa had failed to be renewed has been granted a High Court injunction allowing her to remain in Australia temporarily.

Emergency protests were organised in Cairns and Brisbane yesterday amid fears Plarm Pongprom would be "snatched" by the Department of Immigration during an after-hours interview at the department's Cairns office at 4.45pm.

Plarm was brought to Australia three years ago by her grandparents, Kenneth and Sunan Ritchie, of Mareeba, near Cairns. A series of bridging visas had been issued during this time, but her most recent visa had not been renewed as usual and had expired yesterday.

Plarm's grandparents feared the department was planning on deporting the girl and contacted the Refugee Action Collective which helped them launch legal action in the High Court.

About 1.30pm the worried couple put their granddaughter into hiding after north Queensland senator Len Harris contacted the family and said contacts within the Immigration Minister's office had told him there were plans to immediately deport the girl.

"It was absolutely awful, it was mad panic for about 15 minutes . . . We really didn't know what to do," Mr Ritchie said.

But about 2pm the department contacted the family and said a month-long bridging visa was being prepared and they no longer needed to attend the afternoon interview.

Mr Ritchie yesterday said he was relieved the bridging visa (issued late yesterday) had been granted but was now focused on procuring a permanent visa for the girl with the help of the High Court injunction which was granted yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman for the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs Amanda Vanstone said there was never any danger of Plarm being snatched.

"There was never any such plan nor would there be in such a case," the spokesman said. "In these situations those being deported are given a certain amount of time to leave the country of their own accord."

Neither was there any risk of Plarm being detained.

The spokesman said a final decision was yet to be made on Plarm's case, hence the granting of the bridging visa.

--news.com.au 2004-05-11

[Pink Mist]

I have no doubt that she would have been taken without the media attention and intervention of politicians.

It finally made the Adelaide news so the interest is now nationwide, slobstone wont like that.

Recieved this reply from news editor SAS Seven Adelaide.

Hi,

Thanks for your e-mail.

The story was the lead item at our sister station in Brisbane tonight.

Here's what was said:

A 12 year old Thai girl went into hiding tonight.. her family fearful she'll

be taken from them and deported ...

Plarm Pongprom's Australian grandparents say they'll take their fight to

keep her to the High Court...

Community outrage over the little girl's plight... resulted in two rallies

today .. at opposite ends of the state...

¶These people have never met Plarm Pongprom.. and yet they're determined to

save her from an uncertain... and potentially disastrous fate...

¶[''Robert Jones/Protester - I fear that she's going to be left for dead in

a country where she's either going to be put into the sex trade, death..

there's no future for her where she's going (9)

¶[''upsot - Plarm practicing flute - 3.10ish (2)

Abandoned by her drug addicted parents at just five ... Plarm was rescued by

her grandparents and brought to Australia 3 years ago...

¶[''Kenneth Ritchie - Grandfather 20.12 - She couldn't speak English.. now

she has no trouble understanding people at all (butt edit) 20.21 She can't

read and write Thai, she wouldn't fit in to Thailand at all (8)

Now a vice captain at her local school.. Plarm is an accepted and well liked

member of the Mareeba Community... with high hopes for the future ...

¶[''Plarm - 19.13 I want to help people. I'd like to be a lawyer.. I want to

be a lawyer for a long time (5)

¶[''Kenneth - 20.03 If she goes back.. she'll never go to school again (3)

¶[''Janine Ferguson /friend 23.43 She's got so many people who care for her

here.. it's stupid to send her back .. just stupid(6)

Plarm's grandparents were summoned to Cairns Immigration for a meeting late

today...

Fearing the worst... they didn't bring her with them... instead she went

into hiding.

They now say they'll take their fight to the High Court.. Immigration says

it requires further information before it makes a final decision...

¶[''grab - Make the right decision and make it now.

Meanwhile... Plarm's bridging visa has been extended... along with the

anxiety of family and friends.

Regards.

Derek Mitchell

News Editor

SAS Adelaide

Still waiting for Kevin and Mark to reply or acknowledge, I guess the assistants screen the mail so it may never happen.

Keep fingers crossed.

[Snark]

deleted

[Snark]

deleted

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Just a thought folks. How about a petition from expats in Thailand who know first hand what fate this girl will possibly be facing should she be deported?

A couple of hundred names from the people out 'on the front lines' hitting the media in both Thailand and Australia, especially following hard on the heels of recent arrests in regards to child sex issues may bear some pretty heavy weight.

It seems to me this forum is a perfect venue for us expats to contribute to the international community in regards to issues like this. Perhaps our moderators have some thoughts on this?

I'll talk to George. Sounds like a good idea.

[samran]

Hopefully things will work out now there is a bit of attention. Bless this forum and its members.

Just an aside. The strangest thing (well not so strange I guess) about all this, is that Len Harris, the "Queensland" senator who is funding the petition to the supreme court to help Palm is actually the QLD One Nation senator. The saying you can't judge a book by its cover definetly applies here.

[george]

Surprise helping hand for abandoned Thai girl

A senator from Australia's right-wing One Nation party has come to the aid of a 12-year-old Thai girl, threatened with deportation after her temporary visa expires.

Plarm Pongprom has for the past three years lived with her grandparents in Mareeba in the state of Queensland's far north after being abandoned by her Thai parents.

One Nation Senator Len Harris says he will fund a humanitarian appeal to the high court to have Plarm granted the right to stay here permanently.

He said: "It would be inhumane to send Plarm back to a women's centre in Thailand."

"We all know that in Thailand one of the greatest areas where they actually source these young girls for prostitutes is from these women's shelters."

--ABC Radio Australia News 2004-05-11

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Can we set up a petition abut her on here George ?

[george]

Yes, we can. How should it work technically? A new thread might be the easiest, or do we need more fancy programming? Details please, and I will look into it.

[Snark]

George and Doc, I started the petition in the General Forum Branch. Please sign it now!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Hopefully things will work out now there is a bit of attention. Bless this forum and its members.

Just an aside. The strangest thing (well not so strange I guess) about all this, is that Len Harris, the "Queensland" senator who is funding the petition to the supreme court to help Palm is actually the QLD One Nation senator. The saying you can't judge a book by its cover definetly applies here.

I really think that the good senator is looking for a bit of positive self promotion. He is based in Mareeba, a small town out of Cairns. He talks of taking the matter to the High Court of Australa, whereas the appropriate jurisdiction is the Federal Court.

[george]

Refugee advocate facing child porn charges

A far north Queensland man at the centre of a battle to stop a Thai girl from being deported has been charged with possessing child pornography.

Ken Ritchie, 69 from Mareeba, was charged after an investigation by detectives from the Juvenile Aid Bureau.

He has been directed to appear in the Mareeba Magistrate's Court next month to face three charges of possessing child abuse computer games and a charge of possessing tainted property.

Police say Ritchie's 12-year-old Thai ward, Plarm Pongprom, is not featured in any of the imagery.

The young girl has been issued with 13 temporary residency visas since the battle to allow her to remain in Australia began last year.

Federal Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says she had been informed that there was a police investigation into Ritchie.

Senator Vanstone says a decision on the girl's future is yet to be made.

"I've been challenged on a number of occasions as to why I haven't made a decision earlier in relation to this particular matter and it's often the case that decision-makers have the information to hand but they're not at liberty to make public," she said.

"I knew this matter was being investigated and didn't want to make a decision until the conclusion of that investigation.

"It's been with the Queensland authorities for some time and I'm glad the matter has been resolved."

--abc.net.au 2004-05-28

[NedKelly]

gees Geoirge that could put a damper on things.......does that news sounds just s tad suspicious........like not a major find of child pron but just enough to taint the grandad so the authorities can shuffle the porr kid back to nothing in Thailand. I tell you we cant trust politicians.........whats is it about pollies........get elected and then start growing scales as you become the snake that many are !!

[12call]

U have been ere to long NK.

[Pink Mist]

If you can believe Vanslob as to why she hasn't made a decision yet, knowing her track record I don't think so. This has conveniently dropped in her lap, smoke and mirrors by jonnies' jezabel.