Corio’s Shyamalie Sashikumar hopes for visa certainty

A refugee who now lives in Corio has not seen her sick son for 13 years, as she continues to wait for answers on her visa status.

Shyamalie Sashikumar with a picture of her son Isuru who she hasn't seen for 13 years. Picture: Alan Barber

A “heartbroken” refugee who lives in Corio and is waiting to find out is she will be granted a permanent visa has not seen her sick son in 13 years.

Sinhalese woman Shyamalie Sashikumar left Sri Lanka in 2010 due to safety concerns stemming from the civil war, which officially ended in 2009.

Her son, aged 14 at the time, stayed behind with her mum.

She married a Tamil man in Malaysia, and they came to Christmas Island by boat in 2012.

“I still can’t forget this journey, when I reached Christmas Island my feeling was reborn on this earth,” the 44-year-old said.

“It was very dangerous, with giant waves.”

She then spent about nine months on Manus Island.

“The environment was so violent to us,” she said.

“It was a very difficult situation.”

Ms Sashikumar came to Australia in August 2013.

But her and her husband’s bridging visas have lapsed.

Shyamalie Sashikumar. Picture: Alan Barber

“We do not have a visa or work rights or Medicare,” she said.

“We are still waiting.

“Because of this, I haven’t seen my son or my mum.

“My heart is broken, I always think of my son.

“When we found a safe place, we were going to bring him with us.”

She said the situation had been “very hard” for her son who has kidney failure.

They fear they may not be reunited before one of them dies.

Ms Sashikumar lived in Melbourne and has now been in Geelong for six years.

“We love Geelong and Corio,” she said.

“It has a lot of good people and I have a lot of friends.

“I like the Geelong community and many people support us.”

Ms Sashikumar studied aged care since coming to Geelong but couldn’t complete the final requirements due to her visa status, she said.

“I would like to be able to spend the rest of my life working in aged care, helping senior citizens here,” she said.

Ms Sashikumar was one of a group of refugee women who recently took part in a 640km walk from Melbourne to Parliament House in Canberra to highlight the impact of visa uncertainty.

Ms Sashikumar said the walk was “very hard”.

“It was raining sometimes and very hot sometimes,” she said.

She said she also wound up in hospital due to illness.

The women were on temporary, expired, or bridging visas.

They are part of what is known as the “legacy” case load, which comprises about 10,000 people that advocates say have been left in limbo for a decade.

Ms Sashikumar asked the Australian government to stop this pain.

“Give us all permanent visas so we can see our families, enjoy our lives and work,” she said.

“Please see us and help us.”

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said it did not comment on individual cases due to privacy obligations.

“The government is focused on providing those who engage Australia’s protection obligations a chance to continue their lives in Australia,” the spokesperson said.

Originally published as Corio’s Shyamalie Sashikumar hopes for visa certainty