BY
SARAH STEPHEN
Ebrihim Sammaki fled Iran after the fall of the Shah, and fell in love with an Indonesian woman, Endong, while he was living in Indonesia. Nine years ago, they married and had two children. Then, two years ago, Ebrihim decided to seek a better life for his family.
Unfortunately, coming by boat to Australia landed him in the Woomera detention centre. He has been in detention ever since.
Because EbrihimÂ’s marriage is not recognised by Indonesia, and he is not a permanent resident, it is unlikely he will be accepted back into Indonesia. Sammaki and his wife asked the Iranian embassy about returning to Iran, but was told his marriage and children would not be seen as legitimate.
In October, exploring a way to be reunited with his family, Ebrihim asked his wife to find legal advice. Endong heard of a lawyer in Bali, who she travelled there to see. In Bali, she was badly burned in the bombing on October 12. Because of Australian immigration department delays, Ebrihim missed an opportunity to be with her when she died.
Their two children, three-year-old Sara and seven-year-old Safdar, remain in Indonesia, under the custody of non-government organisation Zero to One, which was set up in honour of another Bali bombing victim. But it can't take care of them indefinitely.
It's a sad story which Australian authorities have made immeasurably sadder. On April 14, the immigration department rejected a request for a visitors’ visa to allow the children to visit their father. Immigration minister Philip Ruddock maintains that it's up to the Indonesian or Iranian governments to reunite the family — not the Australian government.
In a letter to supporters, written soon after the death of his wife, Ebrihim wrote: “The desert has shown no mercy for our tears and heartache or the cry of the children for their papa.”
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, April 23, 2003.
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