RELATED LINKS » Have your say » Subscribe to Archivestuff

Let us stay - hostage family

Dalip and Manjeet Sooden want the family to remain together in New Zealand and have applied for residency, as they are afraid it could be months or longer before they learn of his fate.

The couple wish to support themselves and make a home where Harmeet will be able to recover mentally and physically. "When Harmeet is released, he won't be the same. He might look the same, but he won't be the same. It could be a long time, maybe

years, before we know that he is okay," Mr Sooden, a mechanical engineer in Zambia's copper mines, said.

They have locked up their Zambian home and he has cancelled a new employment contract so they can all wait with their daughter Preety Brewer's family in Auckland.

It has now been two months since the 32-year-old Auckland University student was kidnapped in Baghdad, working with a human rights group. They know their lives could be in limbo for months, or longer. Some hostages have been freed after years.

The kidnappers – the previously unknown Swords of Righteousness Brigade – have been silent since the threat to execute Harmeet and three others from the human rights organisation Christian Peacemaking Teams lapsed on December 12. CPT has been working to protect Iraqi detainees' rights.

Having residency would give the Soodens more certainty at a difficult time. Originally from Kashmir, they had planned for a long time to join their children in New Zealand and previously got permission to immigrate in the mid-1990s. But Mr Sooden's work commitments kept them in Africa.

Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said he had been told the application was with the Immigration Service's Henderson branch, and it would be processed fairly and properly according to policy. As minister he did not get involved in individual cases, but had met the family as a local MP.