Migrant family fears after death of dad
A Filipino family living in Auckland have been left devastated after losing their husband and father to cancer.
Rodel and Risalyn Malijan had been living in Mt Albert with their two children, 17-year-old Jarred and 14-year-old Aleiyah Gaile.
Rodel Malijan moved to New Zealand in 2017 on a work visa, and Risalyn Malijan and their children followed two years later after being granted partnership and dependant children visas.
In September 2020, Rodel Malijan was diag- nosed with stage 4 gastric cancer. He died six months later.
‘‘During the lockdown last year I noticed he was losing a lot of weight very fast and told him he needed to go and see his doctor,’’ Risalyn Malijan said.
‘‘They couldn’t figure out why he was losing so much weight, and sent him home, but it kept on happening.’’
A few months later, after an endoscopy, the cancer was found. Rodel Malijan was told it was inoperable and started chemotherapy instead.
‘‘It was going well, and his tumour had shrunk,’’ Risalyn Malijan said.
‘‘Then suddenly he started to feel feverish and had to be admitted to hospital.’’
His condition continued to deteriorate and eventually his wife was told she needed to prepare to say goodbye.
‘‘It was so painful to see him die. My husband wanted to fight and live for us, he didn’t want to die because he was afraid of leaving us.’’
Dealing with the death of her husband has been hard, and she said she often felt very alone.
‘‘Our visas will expire in 2022, and I do worry about what will happen to us then. We want to stay in New Zealand, this is our home.’’
She has recently started a job as a community support worker, and hopes that will help her chances of obtaining a new visa.
Jeannie Melville, Immigration New Zealand’s acting general manager for border and visa operations, said if a person’s visa no longer matches their circumstances they may have to apply to change their visa conditions, or apply for a new visa.
‘‘A person who was on a partnership visa and had their partner die would no longer meet the conditions of their current visa,’’ she said. ‘‘ . . . we would take an empathetic approach and assess their situation.’’