Thu 29 Sep 2005
A Bangladeshi family is worried they could be deported from New Zealand because they can’t pay a $37,500 hospital bill for their three-year-old son who had a stroke.
Shihab Fahim, who has complex congenital heart disease, had a stroke in March while he was outside playing with his family.
He spent 21 days in Starship children’s hospital in Auckland and needs ongoing therapy after being left paralysed down his right side.
He is unable to speak and is fed through a tube in his nose.
His father, Ashraf Uddin Khokon, who is in New Zealand on a student visa, has paid $2500 of the $37,500 medical bill to the Auckland District Health Board and asked to be allowed to repay the debt at $50 a week.
October 12th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
You can also visit BNZFS website (www.bnzfs.org) to see the appeal for Shihab Fahim made early last month. This case got widespread national coverage in NZ and so far nearly NZ$ 19,000 has been raised. But the sad part is the student visa of the father of the child has been revoked due to the abuse of limited work permit. Now the legal battle is ahead to re-instead the visa.