Philipsburg:--Althea Hanson the post natal mother who was arrested at the BZV office on Christmas Eve day by immigration officers has been released on the orders of the island chief of Police Franklyn Richards on Saturday evening. The woman has been ordered to visit the Governor's office today. In an interview with SMN News Hanson related her ordeal which she does not want for anyone else. She said on Wednesday she was called by someone at the BZV office telling her that she needed to report to their office immediately. Upon reaching there she informed the front desk person that she was called and gave her name to the female attendant who then took up her telephone and made a phone call.
The woman said she heard when the secretary working at BZV said she is here, but she thought the woman was telling someone in the building she had arrived for the urgent meeting. Hanson said she waited almost half an hour and the female attendant told her the person she needed to see was on a long distance call. She said about two minutes later she saw a police car and the L 40 Immigration bus pulled up at the location. Four officers she said entered BZV and one of them asked her what was her name.
The woman said she gave the officers her name who then told her they were instructed by the Lt. Governor to pick her up and her baby and ship them back to Jamaica since he (the governor) does not feel the government of St. Maarten should pay her baby's medical bill. Hanson further explained she was taken to the Philipsburg Police Station where she spoke to someone from immigration who said they were ordered to pick her up. The woman said she explained the officer her medical condition since only two weeks ago she had a (c-section) to give birth to her baby that had to be flown to Curacao for medical reasons.
The officer she said told her he could not take any other decision and he called the police doctor prior to putting her in the cell. "When the doctor came and saw me I again told him I had a c-section and that my baby was taken to Curacao, the doctor who looks like an African said to me that he/she could not take a decision as to if I should be locked up. The doctor then asked me who did the surgery and I provided the name of the name of the gynecologist at the St. Maarten Medical Center who was called. Dr. "C" told the police doctor that he did conduct the surgery and that he had already removed the stitches and my next visit with him would be in two weeks time. Basically the gynecologist is the one who gave immigration the permission to do what they needed to do with me, which was to put me in a cell to lie on concrete floor." Hanson said. The woman further explained she did not see anyone else until late that evening when the officers were serving supper. It was then they brought a bag that had her clothing and sanitary napkins since she was still bleeding due to childbirth.
Hanson said she even asked for a phone call and that was not granted to her until Saturday when she was finally allowed to see Santiago and Glendon White. Hanson said she also requested from the police to go to the hospital and see her baby who had returned from Curacao on Saturday and even that did not happen even though an officer told her she would take her to the hospital. Later that evening White told her he managed to see the Governor at the hospital visiting an ailing relative and he approached the governor for the second time and he (the governor) made one phone call to the police and later told him to go to the police station and pick the woman up. Hanson said she was told she must visit the governor's office today Monday.
Hanson said at the Police Station she was told that the reason she was picked up is because her baby had to undergone an open heart surgery. Something she had no knowledge of even though she was in contact with the hospital in Curacao. The woman said when she was told that she became very worried since no one told her that her new born baby had such ailing condition. She said the officers told her the baby's medical bill had exceeded Naf. 64,000.
SMN News visited baby Hanson at the St. Maarten Medical Center today (SUNDAY), and baby Hanson is doing well. We asked the pediatrician if the baby had any type of surgery and we also took a photograph of the child. The doctor said baby Hanson did not have any major surgery. The pediatrician on duty told us the baby was born prematurely and he had to be sent to Curacao for open lung ventilation. A procedure that requires sending a tube via the throat to provide oxygen to the baby's lung. The pediatrician said baby Hanson did not have any operation and the only reason he remains in hospital is to monitor his growth.
The doctor and other hospital staff who was obviously amazed at what happened to Althea Hanson said the baby's mother needs to be at the hospital for most of the time since she needs to learn how to care her new born baby that remains very fragile.
Amazing is the real culprit behind this story remains the employer of Althea Hanson since the woman is working for the past eight years on St. Maarten. Her pay-slips show she is paying all her dues to the government of St. Maarten including taxes. The old and new labor policy clearly stipulates that the employer is responsible for filing papers for their workers. Those employers who are found in default are subjected to a Naf.5000 fine. Besides that deporting Ms. Hanson and her baby to Jamaica is not the solution because the hospital bill would not be paid.
