By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

MOHAMMED Kamal Hossain is thankful he was granted refugee protection by the CNMI on Aug. 22, 2006, but he says he should also be allowed to bring his family to Saipan for the same humanitarian reason.
Hossain fears political persecution in his home country of Bangladesh.
“What kind of humanitarian help is it if they can’t understand that we also need our family with us? Who can live without seeing his family?” asked Hossain, who now has a 706P immigration status, granted to non-U.S. citizens in the CNMI for special circumstances.
Hossain is among an undisclosed number of foreign nationals who have receive refugee protection or “protection from refoulement” in the CNMI.
At least one other individual, a Chinese national with the Falun Gong, has been given refugee protection under the AGO’s Refugee Protection Program.
Hossain said he earlier asked the AGO to grant his request to bring his wife and children to Saipan. He hasn’t seen them in years, but the AGO, he added, refused to grant the request.
“I think that the CNMI is not following international law on refugees when it does not allow them to bring their families with them. I think that I am considered a resident of the CNMI. If you are from here and you have a wife from another country, you are allowed to bring your wife and family here, why can’t I?” said Hossain, adding that he is willing to pay for his family’s expenses.
Hossain, a security guard, said he is looking for legal advice on his situation. “Maybe I could bring the CNMI government to court to be able to bring my wife and kids here.”
Dana M. Emery, administrative protection judge of the CNMI Office of Refugee Protection, yesterday said she could not comment on specific cases for reasons of confidentiality.
Emery, in an Aug. 22, 2006 letter, informed Hossain that he was determined eligible for protection from refoulement in the CNMI.
This kind of protection ensures that individuals are not forcibly returned to countries where they claim to have a well-founded fear of persecution. This protection can be temporary or long-term and it exists independently of the United Nations Convention as part of customary international law.
In Emery’s two-page letter to Hossain last year, she said: This grant of protection does not include derivative protection for family members.”
Hossain yesterday said the issue is greater than what is contained in the letter.
“If, for example, I come to your house for your help, would you force me to sleep in the bathroom? It’s like helping me but neglecting my needs as a person. I have a wife and kids and I want to have them here and I will pay for everything,” said Hossain, who has been on Saipan since 1997.