After a horrible accident leaves a Pakistani exchange student in a coma, his student visa is set to expire and immigration officials are looking to transport him on a flight back to his native country. Family members are concerned that the 24 hour flight could do more harm than good and want for him to stay in the U.S. where medical care is more advanced.
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Muhammad Shahzaib Bajwa was studying anthropology and sociology at the University of Wisconsin when his car hit a deer running across the highway. He was taken to the hospital then transferred to a different one after going into cardiac arrest. Since the accident, Bajwa has been laying in a coma. Bajwa’s older brother and mother flew to the U.S. from Pakistan after hearing what happened and have been receiving help from the Islamic community who have found housing for the family members. “The support and the love we got from the people of Duluth, from the UWS people, the hospital, it’s been very tremendous,” Shahraiz said.
While the family is trying to remain positive and stay focused on Bajwa’s recovery, they quickly learned that his student visa was going to expire and was not going to be extended. Because of this, the hospital began making transportation arrangements to send Bajwa back to Pakistan. His family is concerned because “It’s a 24-hour flight, and anything can happen to him on the flight,” Shahraiz said. “We don’t want to take that risk, and we want to keep him here until he is fully recovered because it’s the best medical system in the world. And they want us to take him to a third-world country.” Church organizations and immigration attorneys are currently working on the case hoping to have an exception made in this case and have his visa renewed. Even if the extension is granted, doctors predict a long road to recovery is ahead of Bajwa.
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