Christian Malik with Donald Peter and his father Peter in the hospital ward.
A desperate Pak-Christian asylum seeker in Thailand, Donald Peter, was made to wait several years for a much needed hernia operation after the Bangkok Refugee Center (the implementing partner of UNHCR in Thailand) refused to pay the entire bill. The BRC group is funded directly by the UNHCR and despite growing concerns about Mr Peter’s health they offered just a part payment towards the operation. They did however pay the small cost of 1000 baht (around £19) for medical tests for Mr Peter. During his recent trip to Thailand, Wilson Chowdhry our chairman, learnt about Mr Peter’s deteriorating health and offered the BPCA’s help. The entire cost of the operation was finally met by a combination of our contribution of £160, the BRC funding and a gift from Mr Peter’s church friend.
Mr Peter was a qualified teacher in Pakistan when he and his family escaped to Thailand he thought himself a healthy man and initiated a search for illegal work to help sustain them. Work in Thailand is prohibited to asylum seekers and refugees, who are also frowned upon in a society that has refused to ratify UN Conventions for asylum. Mr Peter, like many other asylum seekers, was not happy about the illegal nature of any work available, but in the absense of any help from authorities he saw no other way of providing for his family. Unfortunately for him within months of reaching Thailand he started to feel pain in his abdominal region and this was diagnosed as a hernia. Mr Peter cannot continue to look for work and is not fit enough to sustain employment, this has left him in an extremely vulnerable position with regard to providing for his family. He is struggling to maintain a home for them or provide food and other necessities.
His family managed to save some of the money from the sale of their house in Pakistan towards the cost of treatment. However his mother and father were arrested,despite having valid retirement visas, for not meeting requirements to sign the attendance register at IDC every 90 days. Apparently the elderly couple, who cannot speak Thai, had not been advised about this mandatory process by their agent. Mr Donald had to spend £160 to help free his elderly parents, shattering his hopes for the operation the family had booked for him. Our chairman Wilson Chowdhry met with Mr Peter’s parents and offered to pay their fines of 4000 baht (£80) each, but had no cash with him due to only having arrived in Thailand the same evening. However, after the payment of the fine through funds provided by Peter Daniel, Wilson Chowdhry agreed to compensate Donald Peter by paying towards his hernia operation which occurred 4 days later.
This one armed man had his arm chopped of by an extremist in Pakistan. Wilson met with him and other detainees at the local IDC and distributed food while encouraging them. Whilst here he met with Donald Peter’s father and mother-in-law.
There has been a huge number of arrests of illegal workers in Thailand following the Erawan Shrine bomb attack by Muslim extremists which occurred on 17th August 2015. A large number of asylum seekers and refugees have also been arrested from their homes in a massive countrywide crackdown on those who enter on tourist visas and overstay.
The fear of arrest and detainment in the brutal cells of the Immigration Detention Centre and Central jail has created great anxiety and depression amongst those seeking asylum. Bail also remains closed for asylum seekers and refugees from countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nigeria who are on a terrorism watchlist. Prior to the Erawan explosions asylum seekers and refugees were gaining the benefit of a two year protection from re-arrest after paying bail fees of £1000 – these fees were being sponsored by charities including the BPCA.
We would like to commit a regular fund for Donald Peter’s family and hope that a donor will come forward who is willing to cover their rent and food which costs £100 per month.