Father-of-2 Nguyen Minh Quyet was the skipper of the boat intercepted by Australian authorities on 21 July 2015 off the coast of Western Australia. He was among 46 asylum seekers flown back to Vietnam where he received a 2-year sentence. During his time in jail, however, he lost his ability to walk, and remains too traumatised to speak of what happened to him.
Initially released to be cared for by his wife, Pham Thi Thu Thanh, who could thus no longer work as a labourer, he was nevertheless expected to return to prison to complete his sentence. In November 2016, while receiving medical treatment in hospital, he was taken from his bed back to jail where he receives no care at all. As a result, his legs have worsened, and we now strive to assist his wife to buy medication for him, as well as helping to support his two children, aged 12 and 14, and his elderly father-in-law, who also lives with the family.
“The prison officer told me to buy medicine for him,” his wife said, “but I told him we don’t even have enough money to eat”.
For more information please see www.gofundme.com/careforthechildren and https://newmatilda.com/2016/10/15/saving-the-world-one-life-at-a-time/