Four Poles waiting and hoping to stay in N.Z.

Press, 8 October 1987, Page 1

Four Poles waiting and hoping to stay in N.Z.

DAVID CLARKSON

Four Poles wanting ■‘refugee 1 status and a place-in New Zealand after jumping ship at Lyttelton are hoping their long wait for a decision will soon be over. The four left the Polish Ocean Lines vessel Professor Szafer about 10 weeks ago. They have sought help ‘ from the . Christchurch Polish community while their applicatlon.has been processed< •;$ ■■■• ••fe?... The ship’s third officer and his ■ wife, and two crewmen,, aged about 20, hope the decision dn whether * they will be allowed f permanent residence in New Zealand will 'be made within fhrAA wAPk<t 4 . *>♦: They will not speak directly to the hews media, but some details about them have been provided by the local people who have helped them. : / , The three men had to welt for 7 a time, while living with Polish families in Christchurch; . but eventually they got jobs — all in the same factory. If they are given permission to stay, they want to live in Christchurch. The names of the four have not been disclosed, and the Immigration Division of the "Department of Labour is releasing few details about their application. -i The assistant director of immigration, permanent entry, Mr Ron Malpass, said a hearing oh the Poles* applications had already been held. »; ? 7 77 The applications, and the hearings, were normally kept confidential to protect the individuals involved in case they were at risk from the authorities in their own, countries, he said. The applications were made to . the Legal Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

People making the -applications .were given a temporary entry.;pennlt and a temporary work permit to enable -thenrto - support themselves while the application was "processed. . .7 Hearings were held three or fourrimes a year, with a representative 'from the -■ United Nations High’ Commission for Refugees present The representative came from Australia to attend. ■ • Decisions were ugually delayed for some time aftei; the hearing while further inquiries, were made and reports sent to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Immigration,' . f A Polish man who left a joint Polish-New Zealand fishing vessel at Bluff in 1981, Mr Krzysztof Welz, has spoken about the risks involved in seeking asylum. • 7,' Poland was under martial law/, whenhe decided to tty to stay in Ne? Zealand. It took three years for his wife and sod, who was -, aged eight in 1981, to be given permission to. join .him. r “My wife was told, ‘You will, never go to your husband. You will never have a passport? ’’ , he' said last evening In Wellington, where he works as a motor mechanic, v t Eventually, international, pressure forced a relaxation of the rules by the Polish authorities. At that time the country had flnancial problems, and, agreed to make, reforms in-exchange for overseas ;help, Mr Welz said. He said the families of Polish citizens who defected to the West could face confiscation of their property.'"? ’777 '■•■77 However, he said life In New Zealand* was completely different from his life in Poland, where he could be stopped at any time and taken to a police station for questioning if he did not have his documents with him. *’