KEY POINTS:
The reunion between Qian Xun Xue and her grandmother would be a crucial first step in disarming the psychological time bombs implanted in the 3-year-old girl's head, an Australian child expert said yesterday.
Dr Joe Tucci, chief executive of the Australian Childhood Foundation, said the expected arrival from Hunan, China, of Liu Xiao Ping would provide a familiar face in an otherwise alien landscape for the toddler abandoned by father Nai Yin Xue at Melbourne's Southern Cross railway station on Saturday.
But he warned that the child would face years of deep and disturbing problems.
Qian did not talk for two days after her father walked away from her without turning back. She has yet to deal with the alleged murder of her 27-year-old mother, An An Liu.
He said the sight of her father walking off into the crowd, leaving her alone in completely strange surroundings, would have skyrocketed her level of alarm and would affect her future ability to trust adults and manage unfamiliar situations.
Her self-esteem and self-confidence would also be damaged.
As Qian grew older and became able to understand the tragic events that had overtaken her, she would relive the trauma - and she could not be shielded from her history.
The sooner she could be with familiar people, the better.
Dr Tucci said the familiarity Qian was beginning to feel with her temporary foster family in Melbourne was a start.
"But in the long term she's going to need to reconnect with people who are familiar to her, like a family member, like a grandparent or some extended family, if that's possible.
"No child should have to face this, but here she is, a victim of a cycle of violence and events that aren't of her making."
But Dr Tucci said that her abandonment might have ultimately been for the best. The "unimaginable" act of deserting his child reflected the state of her father's mind and the probability that he had lost touch with reality.
* An An Liu's death will be marked by a minute's silence at the New Lynn Community Centre tonight. Waitakere City Mayor Bob Harvey will lead the 6pm vigil, part of the opening of the city's annual Moon Festival.
