In September 2005, a Filipino man, Freddie Mabalot, collapsed aboard the Saga Ruby, a cruise ship docked in Sydney. Freddie applied for refugee status in 2006, but the Department of Immigration and Citizenship refused to approve his application.
The reason for his refugee application and collapse was that he was suffering from end stage renal disease, kidney failure, and he needed dialysis. The dialysis was the only thing that would keep him alive and he would not be able to afford the treatment if he had to return to the Philippines, two of his family members had died because they could not afford the treatments for their diseases.
Many people from the local community took up Freddie’s cause and one group of CBU students had a chance to work on Freddie’s behalf through a project, a community intervention. Students in the Bachelor of Arts and Community Studies program are required to perform a community intervention as a major project and one group of students was approached with Freddie’s case.
Aimee Hynes, Bhreagh Lafitte, Elise Boissonneault, Lauren MacDonald, Lorelle Burke, Tammy Besso and Vincent MacDonald were the group members and their professor, Jane Connell, told them about Freddie and his case. According to Vince MacDonald, “after a little debate, we knew this project was exactly what we would like to pursue.”
The group held several events that raised money for Freddie and awareness of his case. The group held and organized a coffee house in Sydney featuring local musicians that took in over $1,000, a presentation by Freddie’s lawyer, Lee Cohen, and two group members took Freddie to a luncheon where they met the Federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. At this meeting, Freddie and the two students presented Minister Finley with a package showing the support for Freddie from the local community.
Other members of the community helped to support Freddie during his ordeal. Social worker Anna Deveaux at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital who met Freddie during a session of dialysis; the Sisters of Notre Dame who were the first to take Freddie in and care for him; and people at the Cape Breton Regional Library.
According to Freddie’s lawyer, Lee Cohen, the support from the local community was one of the main reasons behind the government’s decision to let Freddie stay while his application was reviewed.
The ordeal must have been especially taxing for Mr. Mabalot because his family was in the Philippines. To make matters worse, his wife, Cynthia, and his two children, Abigail and Cyndirelle have not been able to see Freddie since he landed in hospital in Sydney in 2005.
Freddie’s case is a situation that shows Cape Bretoners at their best. People were asked to step up and many did and one man owes his life to those people.
Freddie's case also shows what can happen when students are encourages to look beyond the book and classroom during their education. As group member Vincent MacDonald wrote in an article in the Caper Times, “It is our experience that school projects and homework is something to be done before your go out on Friday or before you and your friends leave for a weekend trip. However, this is not the case for our Community Studies group from Cape Breton University.”
This case not only highlighted issues in our immigration system, it showed what a small community is capable of and what a university education can (and should) be about. Freddie’s lawyer said he had a one in a million shot at staying in Cape Breton while his application was being reviewed, if he was told to return he would have likely died. The support of our community helped this man and his family beat one in a million odds, this is a proud moment for everyone involved.
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