Fed: Jail preferable to 'death' flight - Aussie DVT sufferer

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2001
Fed: Jail preferable to 'death' flight - Aussie DVT sufferer

By Rebecca Glenn

SYDNEY, Dec 21 AAP - An 84-year-old Australian woman said she would rather go to jail
in Canada than be forced to fly home and risk death from so-called economy class syndrome.

Elizabeth Sweeney has been fighting to stay in Canada with her daughter, Veronica Sweeney,
52, because she has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or economy class syndrome.

Australian novelist Veronica Sweeney said the flight back to Australia was over 30
hours long and her mother did not believe she would survive the trip.

"My mother just does not feel well enough to cope with the flight back to Australia
and she was refusing to get on the plane," Ms Sweeney said from Canada.

"She said `No, I can't do it, I'll go to jail rather than that'."

She said she and her mother flew to eastern Canada from Sydney in May last year for
a six month stay, but have been there ever since because of her mother's medical condition.

An application to stay in Canada on compassionate/humanitarian grounds was rejected
last month with the pair given until December 19, 2001 to leave the country.

The pair planned to book air tickets to Dublin, Ireland for that date but had their
passports confiscated on November 28.

On Monday, Canadian authorities said they wanted to fly the pair back to Australia
with a medical and immigration escort, instead of allowing them to go to Ireland.

Ms Sweeney said it was still unclear whether Canada would allow them to make their
own arrangements to fly to Ireland where her mother has citizenship.

"We're still hoping that we will be able to purchase, permitted to purchase our own
tickets and to leave freely, we don't mind being escorted to the airport," she said.

Ms Sweeney said she opposed the idea of immigration or medical escorts for the whole trip.

"I do not see the necessity for escorting us all the way, as if we were criminals.

"My mother (jokingly) said ...'what's a doctor going to do except sign my death certificate'
but really it's quite true; unless there's a fully equipped hospital on the plane, there's
nothing that anyone could do anyway'," she said.

Canadian authorities are understood to be planning to deport the pair to Australia
early in the new year.

Ms Sweeney said the whole experience had been a "nightmare" and she felt the Canadian
government wanted to make an example of them.

She said fellow residents of the eastern Canadian town of Fredericton had even protested
on their behalf.

"We have very dear friends here and the whole city, it's amazing ... they've just rallied
around so completely, there's been a protest outside immigration."

Ms Sweeney said her mother's wellbeing was her priority, although it was tough to have
been away from Australia for so long.

"I'd like to have my family around me but I'm more worried about my mother at this
stage, she's been so supportive of me ... she's never let me down and at this stage of
her life, I'm not going to let her down."

AAP rcg/sal/mg/de r

KEYWORD: CANADA DVT

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