MELBOURNE: Australia had to drop charges against Dr Mohammed Haneef, the Indian doctor who was arrested in connection with the failed London and Glasgow bombings, but leaders of the Muslim and Indian communities have appealed to the federal government to help counter the fears and stereotyping of their people.

Raj Natarajan, president of the United Indian Associations (UIA), an umbrella body which represents 18 Indian organisations in Australia, said that since the Haneef affair began — and despite the controversy surrounding his arrest and detention — there have been instances where UIA members have been told they are no longer trustworthy.

“I’ve been talking to a number of doctors who are UIA members and they have had some patients coming in and asking questions about whether that (terrorism) is a possibility. (They say that) we trust our health and bodies to the doctors, how can these people who are trained overseas be allowed to come and do things like this here?” said Natarajan.

Haji Ikebal Mohamed Adam Patel, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) — the main Muslim body in the country, representing 109 Islamic societies in Australia — told the news agency that Haneef’s ordeal has created a sense of fear within the Muslim community.

Haneef, a 27-year-old Indian national who had been working at Queensland’s Gold Coast Hospital, was arrested at Brisbane’s international airport on July 2 while trying to board a Singapore Airlines flight out of Australia. He was charged with recklessly providing support to a terrorist organisation in connection with the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow in late June, purportedly due to Haneef leaving his SIM card (the electronic information card in a mobile telephone) with one of the accused in Britain.

Haneef’s SIM card was allegedly found by police when his cousin, Sabeel Ahmed, was arrested in Liverpool and not, as prosecutors had initially told the court, in the car used to smash into Glasgow airport.

On July 27, the charge was dropped after prosecutors abandoned their case following a review by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Damian Bugg QC.

After almost four weeks in custody, Haneef left Australia for India voluntarily on July 28 night. He was barred from speaking to the media before he left. But this does not signal the end of the affair. Haneef’s work visa was revoked by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews after he had failed a “character test”, a decision his lawyers are expected to challenge in court. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty has also indicated that the investigation of the Indian national will continue.

While the saga has had obvious ramifications for Haneef, his family and friends, Australia’s Indian community has also felt a backlash from a small section of the wider Australian public.

UIA’s Natarajan said: “The backlash is coming, obviously, from a very small section of the community. But that section, as usually happens, is very vocal. They’re the ones who are heard and people may jump into their camp before this whole issue goes away.”

In order to counter the backlash and potentially greater stereotyping of members of the Indian community, Natarajan argues that the government should become more involved.

“I think it’s got to be done by the leaders of this society. The government has to take the lead. For example, the immigration minister, the health minister and the attorney-general, have to come out with statements supporting the Indian doctors and the fantastic work they have been doing,” Natarajan told the news agency.

Around a third of doctors in Australia are foreign-trained — many are from India — with 3,000 to 5,000 doctors currently holding temporary working visas. According to Natarajan, Australia’s dependency on overseas-trained doctors needs “to be recognised and the broader Australian community educated on their work”.

He said that while the Indian community condemns terrorism and supports government actions to protect Australia, the stereotyping of Indian doctors has had an impact. “They really sacrifice a lot to serve the community and I think they feel hard-done by this kind of stereotyping,” says Natarajan.

Australia’s Muslim community has also felt the effects of the Haneef affair. “I think that this is guilt by association that could have happened to anybody,” said AFIC’s Patel.

According to him, “what the Muslim community now feels very strongly is that if you happen to be a Muslim, then you not only have to be very, very careful, but you need to check two or three times before you do anything in life. Otherwise a very simple, innocent, good-hearted action could come back to haunt you in years to come,” referring to Haneef giving away his SIM card to his cousin.

He argues that the nation’s leaders can play a vital role in assuaging these fears. “I don’t think that has been happening. Unfortunately, or fortunately for some, this is an election year and it just seems that the boundaries are being pushed further and further out and the Muslims are feeling very, very vulnerable,” Patel told the news group.

While acknowledging that there have been some isolated incidents of verbal abuse and insults directed at Muslims, Patel says Dr Haneef’s experience has actually had a unifying effect.

“There has been a great show of support, both nationally and internationally, from the non-Muslim community saying that they know what we are going through and that they feel for us. So, I think it is one way that the community can come together. And I think, generally, the community has realised this is a very badly managed case and one that is doing Australia and the country a lot of damage,” he said. —Dawn/The IPS News Service