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Meanwhile in Tasmania, the Friends of Akif support group has raised $1300
for the young Kosovar. "He may be out of sight but he is not out
of my mind," said Sabina Bickley, a member of the group who works
as a waitress in a Hobart cafe. "They can't just remove him, say
it's all over, wipe our hands and forget," she says.
Akif's deportation broke Colin Parramore's heart. Parramore, who worked
as a bus-driver at the Peace Haven Centre, offered to become his guardian.
"Akif called me brother and respects me as one," he said. "I
thought the world of that young fella."
Parramore believes Akif found some solace at his home in the tiny rural
town of Colebrook, population 100. "But there were still lots of
stories he wasn't ready to tell," he said. "He was very traumatised
when he first came to the centre.
"If Akif can't come back here, I think I'll pack up and move either
to New Zealand or America - somewhere that will take him in," Mr
Parramore said.
Bronwyn Hayes 'Akif: Homeless And Afraid In Macedonia' in The
Age (24/09/2000)
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