JUNE NEWS!!
“Sympathise? My Arse”!
Hello Readers! Are you still with me?
June the 1st! yet another book is launched on the theme “Thai Prisons” shit! Not another one I hear you say… boring?... NO! This book is written exceptionally well, by the man himself (without the help of a ghost writer).
David McMillan? Book “Escape” ISBN 978 981 05 75687 published by Monsoon Books.
This is a true account of probably the only Westerner to escape – successfully from a Thai Prison.
I’ve checked his account with prisoners who were there at Klong Prem Prison on the very day David made his leap to freedom, and the true facts of the book “Tally” and are confirmed by people here, still in prison today for crimes committed all those years ago.
The Book “Escape” is a must read or I wouldn’t bother to plug it on what is now meant to be my more personal account of my life here. David’s is a refreshing account of Life in a Thai Prison, and a far cry away from the (shock and horror, purposely design of my site).
My account is done deliberately to hopefully bring about change for the better! People react more to shock and horror, in my experience anyway!
I would like to think David, if our time had coincided, 2 umbrellas would have been necessary!
Chock Dee Khrap David! I thoroughly enjoyed the read.
Remember readers where I finished last month’s news?
Relief!, Happiness!, Sadness! , but 100% peace of mind! Forget all that now! Apart from “sadness”, but even that don’t cut it:- “Devastated” and “Utter Disbelief” come easy to mind!, but even those words still don’t come close to what I am feeling right now.
When she was handed a sealed envelope, she enquired in her native language to the Thai National, “is everything okay?’ I have the Visa don’t I”?. Read it for yourself was the Visa Officers reply. Lek left the building to find a quiet place to sit and read the 3 page document.
It was all written in English and Lek couldn’t make sense of more than a few words, she had no idea what had been handed to her.
Even though on Lek’s Visa application we had requested a Thai-Translator to be present at the interview, as she had no real-command of the English language and it was a prerogative as stated on the visa application form.
In actual fact no interview at her application took place what so ever!
You would have thought, a notice of Immigration Decision issued here in
It’s not as if it’s just a 10 or 20 pound visa fee!
It’s five hundred pounds fee, for god’s sake!
Makes you wonder, just what it is we are paying for here? Lek assuming the good news, that the settlement visa had been granted, made a mad dash from the centre of
Lek’s face was beaming with happiness as I sat down opposite her in the visiting area.
“My visa come darling” she said to me waving the papers at me, of course the glass and 2 sets of bars and a meter wide gap that separated us, I had no chance of being able to read the papers at that distance. With much to do and time limited to 20 minutes on these afternoon visits, the guard was persuaded to bring the papers round for me to read.
It didn’t take me much of a glance, as in bold letters at the top of the first page:-Notice of Immigration Decision “Refusal of entry Clearance” Lek immediately read my face as my smile turned to grimace!
“What’s wrong darling”? She asked, totally overwhelmed I struggled with the lump in my throat. Disbelief at what I had just read!, “Anger”. I wanted to smash my fist through the glass partition.
I couldn’t speak for 2 or 3 very long minutes, trying to gather myself together, composing myself as best as I could.
I played it all down as best I could.
“Lek they refuse your visa, but it’s no problem darling!, we can appeal their decision, and it’s quite normal with a settlement visa they refuse the first application, so don’t worry darling, we will win the appeal for sure”! As the tears welled up in her eyes and the shock and disbelief sunk in, again I found myself lost and struggling for the right words.
I’ve been dealt so many massively heavy blows in my time in Thai prison; mentally I ‘am a lot stronger after so many times of being knocked down and kicked in the teeth. Each time picking myself up and shrugging off the latest insult to injury.
But when the blow is delivered to the ones I love, mum and dad, my wife or our son, emotionally I crack up, breakdown or close to it. (Far more easily than I ever used to), getting soft in my old age or the shear frustration of being locked behind bars, having no control of our life.
Shit! I should be on the other side of the bars to hold her and comfort her, and to smash the shit out of that heartless bastard of a Clearance Officer!
When Lek finally spoke again:-
“Darling! I your wife, you English citizen, Oak’s mother he English citizen, how they not give me go
(The bell sounded for the end of the visit and the telephone went dead, before I had a chance to answer)
I slowly mouthed,” I love you”,(as no sound penetrates the glass partition between us). As the guard ushered me out of sight, I felt numb, the papers hanging limply in my hand, thoughts racing through my head, oblivious to my surroundings, other prisoners spoke to me, but I didn’t hear them!.
It would be another month before Lek makes the long journey from her home to visit me again, how much did she understand of what I said and what I mouthed, sure her 9 hour bus journey home would be a long lonely and sad one, with so many unanswered questions going through her mind.
Of course what I had told Lek, about the first application refusal being quite normal, was bollocks!
That night I lay awake all night, as Lek must have sat awake on the bus journey home.
Shit! Shit! Shit! Over 4 years here in this stinking hole!
Waiting and clinging to the hope the 4 years mark would be the turning point. My transfer home and Lek and Oak, all on our way to
Shit!, hadn’t my family suffered enough? For my mistake, a crime that in
To top it off!, this latest kick in the teeth is from my (our) own government. I can accept and deal with
But my (our) own government?
As Lek rightly said:- I am a English citizen, our son is a English citizen, surely I have the right to have my wife in
Surely Oak our almost 4 year old son has the right to have his mother in
Oak was born while I was in prison, so apart from our prison visits I’ve deprived him of having a father. Now! Mr Visa Entry Clearance Officer you deprive him of having his mother in
My family and I all thought Lek’s settlement visa application, a mere formality. Yet my parents, as sponsors of Lek’s visa, submitted mare that adequate documentation to support Lek’s application. Personally I thought we had over done it, providing so much more documents than actually asked for in the application, but better safe than sorry or so we all thought!
Readers forgive me for not going into the actual refusal grounds, as an on going appeal is happening right now and I don’t want to piss them off more than I already have. I will quote you one line from the refusal: - one lie actually!
Quote: - “Whilst I do sympathise with your current circumstances your application does not meet within immigration rules” end of quote!
(Sympathise my arse! My quote!)
they gave us 28 days to appeal after the date of notice, which is
8 virtually sleepless days later:-
Those letters sent by Eric McGraw, the 2 Leicestershire Mp’s and my guardian Angel (no less) my 2nd cousin “Carla” sure did the trick! (I take it back you Home Office Bureaucrats did get your arses in gear), and all of you, I thank you kindly!’ very much appreciated!
Just shows you a squeaky wheel gets oil, as my papers were back in 3 months compared to 7 months plus!
The next step in my transfer is it goes before a Thai Committee for hopefully their approval.
If Lek’s visa had been granted this would have been sensational news. But after the news of at least the Home Office approval, had sunk in!
Lek’s visa refusal really annulled what should have been the happiest news in over 4 years for me and my family.
It’s still good though readers, as the Home Office approval can only strengthen our appeal grounds for Lek’s visa. Yet I still didn’t know whether to really feel happy or not! The month of June is one hell of a roller coaster of extreme heights and lows!
Thanks for listening readers!
Steve Willcox
bravenet.com