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An Italian teenager with special needs is facing deportation from Australia despite having lived here since she was one year old.
Benedetta Donagemma, 18, was given three weeks to leave Australia, along with her mother, Elisa Foscili, and father, Vanni, after she lost her job and work visa during the pandemic. Covid.
Immigration officials ‘red flagged’ Elisa and Benedetta because they were tied to their work visa.
Adding to the problem, immigration officials also say Benedetta, who has a rare chromosomal condition that makes her non-verbal, could be a “burden” on the Australian health system.
But her adoring family, living in Sydney, is convinced that this is not true.
Italian teenager Benedetta Donagemma, who has special needs, faces deportation from Australia despite having lived here since she was one year old (Pictured, Benedetta with her twin Matteo)
The Immigration Department’s stance threatens to tear the family apart because the couple’s four other children, including Benedetta’s twin Matteo, are allowed to stay because they all obtained student visas.
“Benedetta doesn’t have any medical requirements in terms of disability, she just doesn’t speak,” Donagemma said.
You do not need hospitalizations or regular doctor’s appointments.
Vanni worked as a geologist in the oil and gas sector in Australia in 2006, bringing his five children with him.
The Immigration Department’s stance threatens to tear the family apart because the couple’s other four children, including Benedetta’s twin Matteo, are allowed to stay.
They all have secured student visas.
“If they took her out of my life, it would be really devastating,” said Matteo Donagemma. a current affair.
Mama Elisa has garnered 22,200 signatures on an online petition to rally support for Benedetta.
“Our family is very close and we depend on each other,” Ms Foscili wrote, tagging Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.
Benedetta is a sweet girl. She is in excellent health and has a good sense of humor. Her life depends on her connection to her twin brother Matteo and other siblings.’
Ms Foscili also argues that her family has contributed to Australian society by raising high achievers. Pictured is her daughter Chiara, a champion ice skater who has chosen to represent Australia.
Foscili says her daughter Benedetta trusts her siblings
Benedetta is closest to her twin, Matteo, who has just completed his HSC and is about to start university studying astronomy and astrophysics.
He recently graduated from Year 12 at Clarke Road School in Hornsby.
The family points out that they have never had any problems and have paid their taxes.
In fact, the Donagemmas have paid far more than many Australian families because they do not have access to free education or Medicare.
They also argue that their family has contributed to Australian society by raising high achievers.
Benedetta’s twin Matteo, 18, has just completed his HSC and is about to start university studying astronomy and astrophysics.
His daughter Chiara is a champion ice skater who has chosen to represent Australia at four world championships. She is also a qualified interior designer.
Andrea is a qualified chef and says the family is ‘hurt’ by a ruling that could tear them apart.
Another son, Francesco, who is studying mechanical engineering, says the family just wants to “earn a living and we’re not afraid to work hard.”
‘Australia is our home. My children belong to the Australian community and share its values,” said Ms. Foscili.
He claimed in his online petition that the situation shows that discrimination on the basis of disability is ‘permissible in Australia’.
Mama Elisa has obtained 22,200 signatures on an online petition to raise support for Benedetta
‘A child’s disability is not a reason to deport them from the only life they have ever known, but discrimination on the basis of disability against a particular group of people is permitted in Australia, highlighting the inconsistency between the Disability Discrimination Act and the Immigration Law. ‘ she wrote.
“I am very worried about my daughter’s future, when my husband and I will no longer be there for her and she will be alone in Italy with her family in Australia.”
Eventually, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles stepped in and switched Vanni, Elisa and Benedetta to a tourist visa while their application for permanent residency is being granted.
Now it is likely that his case and his immigration status will be resolved in two years.