Woman dies 'after DIMIA harassment' AAP August 24, 2005 http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16367321-29277,00.html
A MELBOURNE doctor has blamed the Department of Immigration for contributing to the death of an elderly woman by forcing her to make a stressful trip for a medical examination against his advice. Chris Towie says harassment and intimidation by the department contributed to the death of Syrian grandmother Aziza Agha, 79, two weeks ago. "I believe that Mrs Agha would not have died if it was not for the harassment by the Department of Immigration," Dr Towie, a general practitioner, said on ABC radio. "She was an elderly lady who was in no condition to be dealing with the bureaucratic requirements that were placed on her. "She was really very frail and very distressed, begging for mercy." Dr Towie said that despite his warnings that Mrs Agha was not fit to leave her home, the department insisted she make a 30-minute trip to Melbourne's CBD to see one of its own doctors. She died from a heart attack two days later. Immigration has defended its actions, saying it was reasonable to request its own medical assessment to determine whether Mrs Agha was fit to travel. Mrs Agha arrived in Melbourne from Lebanon in September last year to visit her family. She was granted a six-month visitor visa and the ABC is reporting that a request to extend that visa, made on medical grounds, was refused. Dr Towie said he had referred her death to the Victorian coroner and would also be contacting the police. "I wrote a letter to the Department of Immigration when they requested that they medically examine her fitness to travel," he said. "I was very concerned that if she was forced to undergo a trip to the city in a strange country in a strange environment with great fear in her heart, that the stress could be fatal to her." Dr Towie said he had no doubt that the department contributed to Mrs Agha's heart attack. "She died two days after being forced to undergo a medical examination in the city by the Department of Immigration," he said. "And so I wrote on her death certificate that the cause of her heart attack was being harassed by the Department of Immigration. "She was forced to undergo an examination contrary to my medical advice to them that it was of great detriment to her health." Dr Towie said he did not know why immigration did not listen to his warnings that Mrs Agha was not to leave her family's home. Further comment was being sought from the department. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16367321-29277,00.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamcity/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
