Write
to the Prime Minister:Amanda Vanstone, the Minister for Immigration, is suggesting that it is Vivian who is responsible for delaying her return to Australia.
Talk about blaming the victim!
Please write to the Prime Minister and send a copy to Liberal Party member Ms. Louise Markus (Louise.Markus.MP@aph.gov.au) to call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and bring Vivian home.
The Hon John
Howard MP,
Prime Minister,
Parliament House,
CANBERRA ACT 2600
And send a copy to SPAN as well.
1962 - Vivian Alvarez Solon born
in the Philippines, grew up in Cebu.
1984 - she married Robert Young and
migrated to Australia.
1986 - Vivian acquired Australian
citizenship. She applied for and received an Australian passport.
2001 March 31 - Found unconscious and
badly injured, Vivian was admitted to hospital and treated for serious
spinal and head injuries.
April 2 - Hospital staff, suspecting her
of being an illegal immigrant, notify the Department of Immigration
(DIMA)
May 3 - Officers from DIMA’s
compliance section interview Vivian. Although she tells them she is an
Australian citizen, but is not in possession of her passport, they
decide she is an unlawful non-citizen.
July 12 - Vivian is discharged from
hospital, taken into detention and, the next day, transferred to motel
accommodation near the Brisbane airport.
July 16 - Vivian is interviewed by the
Philippine Consul’s assistant in Brisbane. Mayette
Mackintosh, a nurse, was asked to accompany her. She spoke with Vivian
in their native tongue Cebuano and witnessed Vivian having a seizure.
July 17 - Queensland Department of Family
Services reported Vivian as missing and the Police list her in the
Queensland Missing Persons Register as Vivian Young.
July 20 - Confined to a wheelchair, Vivian
is deported to the Philippines; her name recorded as Vivian Alvarez.
2003 August - The Immigration officer who
first interviewed Vivian in 2001 recognises her photo aired on a
missing persons TV program. He informs DIMIA that the missing and
deported women are the same person.
IN AUGUST 2003 OFFICIALS WITHIN DIMIA KNEW THAT AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN HAD BEEN DEPORTED BUT NOTHING WAS DONE!
2005 February 8 - The Palmer
Inquiry, set to investigate the case of Cornelia Rau, reveals 33
others, including the deportation of an Australian citizen.
Vivian’s family renews enquiries with DIMIA and the police.
The media initiate their own investigation.
April 22 - DIMIA begins their search for
Vivian in the Philippines.
May 8 - An Olongapo City priest recognises
Vivian from an ABC news cast as the woman cared for in a charity-run
hospice for four years.
May 12 - The Australian Consul General
travels to Olongapo to meet Vivian. The following day the Embassy
transfers her to Manila for medical tests and treatment.
AS WE GO TO PRESS, 49 DAYS HAVE PASSED AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT YET MADE AN ACCEPTABLE OFFER FOR VIVIAN’S RESETTLEMENT IN AUSTRALIA. SHE IS STILL IN MANILA.
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