Nepalese woman bewildered by refusal to allow husband to stay

1.00pm

A Nepalese woman says she is bewildered by refusals to allow her husband to remain in New Zealand with her and the couple's sick baby.

Bandana Sharma Poudyal yesterday said goodbye to her husband Shyam at Palmerston North Airport.

After returning to a friend's house to care for the couple's ailing seven-month-old baby Pranav, who has been deemed unfit to travel due to several congenital medical conditions, she said she wondered how the father of a sick child could be forced to leave the country.

"I am not sad. I am more confused," she said. "Before I came to this country, I read a lot about New Zealand and I read that animals have rights here. But we have none, even though my son is a citizen of this country. He cannot be with his father."

Mr Sharma was obliged to leave the country after completing a two-year master's degree course in veterinary science at Massey University. But Pranav's fragile health meant the child was too sick to travel.

Pranav is a citizen because he was born here, and his mother and sister have been allowed to stay after the intervention of Mayor Mark Bell-Booth on their behalf.

But Mr Sharma's scholarship included a proviso that he return to work in Nepal for a year after finishing his studies.

Local resident Val McCullough, who took in Mrs Sharma Poudyal, Pranav and his sister Shreeya, said it was a difficult situation especially given a possibility that Pranav could die as a result of his ailments, which include heart disease, microphthalmia, hearing impairment and eating difficulties.

"We have spent most of the morning feeding him, but it's been hard because he has been coughing for an hour and a half," said Mrs McCullough, who is a nurse.

The family believed they could receive better medical care for Pranav in New Zealand, she said.

Mrs Poudyal believes the family's case is special and deserves a relaxation of the rule that Mr Sharma must wait at least a year before trying to migrate back to New Zealand.

Mr Bell-Booth said he had taken Mr Sharma's case to the Immigration Service and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, that administered his scholarship, but his situation was a secondary worry at this stage.

Looking after the mother and children was the main issue, especially as the family have no income and did not qualify for any state assistance, he said.

Social Development Minister Steve Maharey said the family did not qualify for the usual benefits because they were not New Zealand residents.

"I am aware that the family does have some cash; and the information I have received is that the child will be well enough to travel in about three weeks, so it's a case of making sure they have enough to tide themselves over. We'll see if we can make sure they are looked after."

- NZPA