Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Online Friday, December 3, 2004. 8:34am (AEDT)
Autistic boy featured in Govt calendar facing deportation
A 12-year-old boy chosen by the Federal Government to appear in a calendar marking the International Day of People with Disabilities is apparently facing deportation from Australia because he is disabled.
Indian-born Rophin Morris and his parents have recently had their application for permanent residency turned down by the Department of Immigration because he is autistic.
The family is currently in Australia on bridging visas.
His father, Jude Morris, has told the ABC's AM program the family came to Australia 10 years ago and is pleading to be allowed to stay.
"What strikes me [is] on one hand my son is being honoured and on the other side the Department of Immigration is refusing us a visa and asking us to leave the country because my son has a disability and I do find that ironic actually," he said.
A spokesman for the Immigration Department says no decision has been made on the Morris family's case.
At 12:42 PM -0500 2/12/04, Doug Henwood wrote:
>If someone from Adbusters did this it would seem implausibly
>heavy-handed. On one of the muted TVs at the gym tuned to CNN, I
>just saw a house ad for an upcoming special on "NUCLEAR TERROR,"
>followed by an ad for the Home Shopping Network.
>
>Doug
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