Pregnant And Persecuted

“For Fau Sale, a young Western Samoan woman halfway through her pregnancy, ‘justice’ meant that for two incredible months earlier this year she was pursued by the Police and the Immigration Departments”, writes New Zealand journalist Mike Field, telling one of the many grim stories thrown up by the current New Zealand government drive against “over-stayers”.

“The fear, terror and stress nearly caused her to miscarry”, Field writes.

Although she was married to a Western Samoan who has a permanent resident status, the Minister for Immigration, Mr Gill, decided the young woman had to leave New Zealand.

Straightening out the problem cost the young couple $4,000 in fares and expenses for their trip back to Apia where, the New Zealand Government insisted, they had to go to have Fau’s papers regularised.

The Sales are now back in New Zealand, and the proud parents of a baby girl.

But Fau’s position remains very much at the whim of the Immigration Department.

Fau’s husband, Tupui Sale, never tires of showing friends a photocopy of the ruling National Party’s 1975 manifesto in which the following passage is underlined: “The National Party will establish revised immigration criteria on the basis of humanitarian principles... Selection criteria will be based on family links with New Zealanders. Priority will be given to dependent relatives of New Zealand citizens and residents ...”

For his story, Field changed the names of the pair to avoid embarrassment o them and to the husband’s employers.