Kin of Sri Lankan refugee who committed suicide in Australia seek Jayalalithaa's help to attend funeral

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 11 Juni 2014 | 22.44

CHENNAI: The family of Leo Seemanpillai, a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee who died after setting himself ablaze in Australia, has submitted a petition to the Tamil Nadu chief minister's special cell, urging the state government to help them attend his funeral in Australia on June 13.

In their petition, Leo's family members requested chief minister J Jayalalithaa either to help them attend his funeral in Australia or bring his body for burial in Vellore. The family is facing difficulties in obtaining visitors visas to attend his funeral.

Seemanpillai, 29, doused himself in petrol and set himself ablaze in Australia on May 31. His relatives, including his parents and three siblings, have been living in a refugee camp in Vellore for the past two decades.

The relatives approached the chief minister's special cell, a day after they approached the Australian consulate and the Sri Lankan deputy high commission in Chennai.

"I have submitted a petition to the chief minister's special cell and also met one of her secretaries requesting her to help us visit Australia to attend my son's funeral. We don't have passports or any other travel documents since we are refugees. The Australian government is not ready to issue visas without such documents. We had no other option then approaching the chief minister," Leo's father Seemanpillai told TOI.

Leo completed his diploma in electrical and electronics engineering and decided to settle in Australia, dreaming of making a fortune. He undertook a risky sea journey from India and managed to reach the Indonesian shores. "After much hardship, he arrived in Australia in January 2013," said a family friend in Australia.

Leo was among the lucky few who got a work permit in Australia. This was before the country dramatically changed rules on how it dealt with asylum seekers. He spent around six months in detention in Darwin and was moved to Geelong after being granted a temporary "bridging visa."

The Australian government has deported more than 1,000 Sri Lankan asylum seekers since August 2012. Supporters of refugees have said a lot of Tamil youths are being deported and this has triggered fear in the community.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Suicide,Sri Lankan refugee,Leo Seemanpillai,Jayalalithaa,Australia


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