We have failed Anike. Pray for her
IT IS staggering beyond belief that Australia's duty of care to seven-year-old Anike Wanggai has failed to protect her from returning to Indonesian territory following her three-year stay on a temporary protection visa ("Papuan refugees want to go back", The Age, 28/11).
Anike has been at the forefront of demonstrations holding aloft the Morning Star Flag, which, in her birthplace of West Papua, brings a 15-year jail sentence. While unaccompanied minors were prevented from being involved in political demonstrations by Department of Human Service rules, Anike was with her father, Yunus Wanggai. They went missing on November 15, and, a week later, were in the company of Indonesian officials in Canberra.
Recent events don't make sense to those who knew them well, such as their signing up for permanent Australian citizenship, the acceptance of their wife and mother, Siti Pandera Wanggai, for a family reunion in Australia, Anike's joy at school, Yunus' medical care.
Despite denials from the Indonesian embassy, there is a whiff of coercion. This story needs to be told and those responsible held to account. Anike is an extraordinary child and will be sadly missed by all her friends across Australia. We pray for her future safety.
Frances Walton, Ivanhoe
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