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An ongoing investigation by the Socialist Equality Party |
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Return to Record of the Workers Inquiry Melissa Cristiano's message to the SEP public meeting It's up to us to find the answers' Too ill to attend the SEP public meeting in Cringila on November 24 1996, Melissa Cristiano wrote the following statement from her hospital bed. It was read by her father Will Juarez, who has worked in the Port Kembla steelworks all his adult life, including the past 13 years in the coke ovens. My name is Melissa Cristiano and I am 20 years of age. At the age of 19, life could not have been looking better -- a promotion, new house and most importantly, my wedding day. Sadly for me, things weren't to stay a pretty picture. A month to the day of my wedding, I was told I had chronic myeloid leukaemia, a disease that could only be cured by a bone marrow transplant. How could this be? My life was just beginning! Determined to beat the disease, I decided to return to work and try to lead a normal and happy life. To the best of my knowledge two former Warrawong High students had already died and another was still battling the disease. To me this wasn't normal and I felt something had to be done. I approached the Illawarra Public Health Unit, who did not return my call. I decided that I couldn't let this go unnoticed. What if there was a problem at the school? All those students were at risk. Some time had passed and I still had not had any response to my call. It was time to contact the media -- perhaps they could shed some light on the situation. Unfortunately for me, my energies had to be placed in other areas. In August of this year I was informed my disease had transformed to the acute stage, making my need for a bone marrow transplant a major priority. Since this time I have spent many long weeks in hospital undergoing chemotherapy and long hours recovering from its side affects. During this time I watched my friend Goce [Ilioski] slowly suffer from his disease to the stage where he could no longer find the energy to fight. I watched Goce die before my eyes. To me, we need to find answers. We may not find the answers to the cause of our disease as levels have never been monitored. But we can't sit back and watch those we love die before our eyes. I've since found out that my disease has relapsed again, meaning my own time is limited. It's up to us to find the answers. You can't just sit back and say well, "what can I do?" The answer is simple. Take the time to care, find the answers we so desperately need to find and put an end to the community's suffering. It's our community and we have the right to live a healthy life within it. |