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A mother facing deportation from Australia is stuck with the terrible prospect of leaving her disabled daughter behind so she can receive the best possible care.
Kamisha Gobdurdhun moved to Australia from the east African island nation of Mauritius on a student visa in 2008 and her daughter Sabiana was born a year later.
Sabiana, now aged 13, was born with a rare genetic condition called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, which causes severe developmental delay and she can only speak about 15 words.
Her father is not involved in her care, and Ms Gobdurdhun, who works in the construction industry in Sydney, has been told she must leave the country.
Kamisha Gobdurdhun (left) moved to Australia from the east African island nation of Mauritius on a student visa in 2008 and her daughter Sabiana (right) was born a year later
She does not want to put her child in someone else’s care but knows that if she takes her daughter with her, then she won’t receive the best care possible.
‘You can’t do that to my kid, you can’t separate a mother from her child,’ she said.
Ms Gobdurdhun said the healthcare system in her home country is nowhere near as good as the one in Australia.
‘Take her and let her die, and I can’t do that,’ she said.
If Ms Gobdurdhun doesn’t get a new visa, she will be deported within weeks.
‘I will not be able to survive without my daughter and she will not be able to do it either because we’ve always been together and she knows mummy,’ she told A Current Affair.
The mother and daughter’s fate now lies in the hands of Immigration Minister Adam Giles.
When she was born, there was little expectation that Sabiana would live beyond the age of two, and she stopped breathing twice when she was very young.
‘I really owe that to the Australian government and the medical experts, everyone has fought so hard for her to still be alive today,’ her mum said.
But she said taking her daughter back to Mauritius would risk her life.
‘I know the difference between the medical treatment here and what we can get back home,’ Ms Gobdurdhun said.
Sabiana (pictured) was born with a rare genetic condition called Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, which causes severe developmental delay
‘If you say to me take Sabiana back home, it would be like someone saying to me “OK, take her and let her die” and I can’t do that.’
Taking her 7,837km to Mauritius is a near impossibility anyway.
‘My daughter cannot fly, she cannot travel and that’s also been confirmed by her doctors because of her condition,’ Ms Gobdurdhun said.
Sabiana needs assistance with almost everything, from having a shower to feeding to walking to getting dressed.
Ms Gobdurdhun did get a ministerial intervention under the previous Coalition government in 2018, when she got a medical treatment visa.
But that expired in April and she unknowingly missed out on a chance to switch to a permanent visa before her daughter became an Australian citizen.
She is now on a bridging visa that expires in just over two weeks on June 13.
Immigration Lawyer Adam Byrnes said only the Immigration Minister can help Ms Gobdurdhun now, and there are ‘unique and exceptional circumstances in this case’.
He said if Mr Giles doesn’t intervene, she is likely to be put in immigration detention and removed from Australia.
‘That would be absolutely tragic, the focus here needs to be on the child,’ Mr Byrnes said.
Kamisha Gobdurdhun (pictured) said her daughter’s fate now lies in the hand of Immigration Minister Adam Giles
‘The Minister (is) the only one here who has the power to do something here and I really expect him to do something and be fair,’ Ms Gobdurdhun said.
‘I am still going to be working, I’m still going to be paying my taxes, I’m still going to respect Australian values and contribute where I can.’
The strong-willed mum is determined to keep fighting for her child’s sake. ‘I will not take no for an answer when it comes to my daughter’s life,’ she said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Immigration Minister for comment.
