The Myanmar crewman jumped from the Poavosa Wisdom VII off the coast of Gisborne on November 1 and spent 23 hours in icy water before his rescue. Photo / Gisborne Herald
The Myanmar crewman jumped from the Poavosa Wisdom VII off the coast of Gisborne on November 1 and spent 23 hours in icy water before his rescue. Photo / Gisborne Herald
A Myanmar crewman who jumped off a cargo ship last week in a desperate bid to seek asylum can stay in New Zealand while his case is being processed.
Lawyer Simon Lamain told the Herald the Myanmar national is going through "immigration procedures" to determine if he could stay.
"Those procedures we'd expect to take between six and 12 months, and he's entitled to stay in New Zealand while that process occurs," said Lamain, a barrister at Auckland-based refugee law specialist Landmark Chambers.
The crewman, known only by his first names, Min Naing, spent 23 hours battling bad weather and icy water on the Gisborne coast before rescuers found him floating out to sea.
He told the Herald he had given up and was waiting to die, but it would have been no worse than going back to Myanmar and risking arrest by the military.
He is isolating at a Covid-19 facility on Gisborne Hospital grounds until Wednesday, after returning a negative Covid-19 test onshore. He had undergone regular surveillance testing before that as a seaman so his isolation period was cut short to seven days, not the 14 days earlier reported.
The Myanmar national was found by rescuers on the Eastland Port pilot boat Rere Moana (centre), seen here taking him back to shore. Photo / Eastland Port Group
Lamain said a kind individual in Gisborne has offered to put the seaman up before he moves to longer-term accommodation in Auckland, likely at a charity that supports asylum seekers.
"It has been quite remarkable how positive everybody has been, there's been a lot of people wanting to help, and reaching out," the barrister said.
Shamsul Alam Saan Yu says the Myanmar community in New Zealand is eager to support the man since news of his rescue broke last week.
"He's going to need community support, he's alone here," said Saan Yu, who is part of a Rohingya community group in Auckland, "We don't care about his religion or his ethnicity, as long as he's from Myanmar we're willing to help within our capacity."
'Tip of a larger problem'
Tinmama Oo of NZ advocacy group Democracy for Myanmar says Min Naing's story shows even countries as far away as New Zealand cannot be shielded from the Myanmar crisis. Desperate refugees will come out of the beleaguered nation one way or another, she says.
At least one Myanmar national has contacted her asking for help to jump ship and seek asylum in New Zealand, and she fears more will try to do the same.
"People are really desperate," she said, "I just don't want to see more people risking their lives. Min Naing was very, very lucky [to survive]."
Asked to comment last week, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said refugee resettlement has restarted in New Zealand after a period of disruption due to Covid-19, and Government resources are currently focused on the significant number of refugees who recently arrived from Afghanistan.
"Asylum seeking is part of everyday life and happens on a regular basis," he said. "But I just don't have information about the [Myanmar] case."
International law expert Alexander Gillespie says he believes accepting refugees like Min Naing presents a low risk of creating an incentive for more to come. "Because we're so far away, no refugee boat has ever actually made it to New Zealand."
But desperate measures are not unusual for people fleeing their countries, he said.
"Whether they are trying to float across the Mediterranean on an old rubber boat, or whether they're jumping ship, I think when people's fear of persecution is extreme they will go to very large limits to try and find safety."
He says Min Naing now faces the difficult task of proving his fear of persecution is based on reality.
"Everything will turn on the merits of the case. You don't get asylum just because you're from Myanmar, you must show a well-founded fear of persecution because of politics or religion ... and show the risk to you and your family."
Given the ongoing political crisis and violence in Myanmar, Gillespie says this is likely to be the tip of a much larger problem.
"It could well end up as a very large refugee crisis. This is just the first time it's actually hit New Zealand shores, and I doubt it'll be the last."
