Unbreakable Threads

In December 2013, child/neo-natal psychiatrist Emma Adams travelled to Darwin and then on to Blaydin detention centre as a representative of ChilOut (Children Out of Immigration Detention). The trip was confronting for obvious and not so obvious reasons, and Emma and her colleague both left feeling extremely distressed. She returned to her Canberra family - her doctor husband, Rob, and her three sons - and became consumed by the idea that she must help one of the boys she met at Blaydin. So followed eighteen months of lobbying on the part of Emma and her husband to bring Abdul, a 16-year-old Hazara boy from Afghanistan, to live with them as part of their family. Emma is an indigenous Australian and Rob is the child of Hungarian refugees. Four years later, Abdul is one of Emma's boys. He is doing his HSC, just like one of Emma's other sons, but the decision he makes about future study will revolve around what will give him the best chance of winning a coveted temporary protection visa. Emma is one of only a handful of Australians, including Julian Burnside, who have managed to foster a child from one of the detention centres.