WE JUST WANT TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER NOT WORLDS APART

Hi our names are Carl & Netanong (Lek).

We are currently in Thailand. We are not really sure as to what to say so as they say we shall start at the beginning.

5 Years ago December Carl had a stroke that left him with severe memory loss & physical weakness.

Although he was ill he was determined to carry on with normal life with the support of friends & family. (You soon realise how many friends you actually have when you are in that situation).

After a few months with the help of his carer he relearnt how to use the internet & as he was lonely decided to look for a companion then he met Lek.

It was not an instant attraction for them both, Lek was more hesitant having never had a boyfriend before yet alone one from another world. However time moved quickly & by the May of that 1^st year Carl was on a Plane to Thailand to meet his new Love.

His family thought he had lost the plot completely but with assurances from the doctors saying he should go for a holiday they supported him.

Needless to say the holiday was a great success & Carl returned in the August to spend a few months in the sun to further aid his recovery.

In that December Carl suffered a heart attack at Lek’s home but was given CPR by neighbours & revived back to life after having probably been dead for 5 mins or so. Even this did not deter Carl from seeking his happiness however selfish he thought it would appear to others. So he proposed to Lek.

In the January of 2013 they were married in a Buddhist ceremony attended by many new friends & family from both sides of the world. Carl’s Father having met Lek for the first time was very impressed with her & even warned Carl if he were to mess this one up then he would be a darn fool (written without the expletives used). He realised, he now along with other family members no longer had the burden of daily worrying if Carl was ok & being cared for. He knew all was & would be well. Obviously he was fully aware finances would be an issue as Carl was & still is unable to work in Thailand or UK so offered to help pay for their rent & any medical expenses needed.

In January of 2015 Lek after already having had 2 visa refusals on pathetic grounds was able to gain an entry visa to the UK for a holiday to visit with her Husband (the marriage having been legalised in April 2014). The family were so pleased to meet her especially as her father in law was slowly but surely worsening in health & other family members had illness issues also.

Carl returned to Thailand in the July but whilst he was away his father passed away.

This meant Lek applying for a new visa to attend the funeral of the person she had come to regard as her Papa. It was refused again on pathetic grounds of 1, not providing a death certificate 2, Carl not having the necessary finances to support his wife. Yet for a settlement visa this is not a requirement in his case

It left them distraught having to say goodbye at Bangkok airport & made the following weeks of funeral arrangements etc. harrowing & painful for Carl without his wife by his side. Lek meanwhile was in Thailand feeling guilty having not attended to pay her respects & for being unable to support her husband in his hour of need.

Worse however was to come by now Carl & Lek had been lent quite large sums of money by family to apply for her visa & for Carl’s plane tickets home etc.

The loans were to be repaid from any inheritance due. This was not an issue or so was thought until somebody who was treated as a family member for many years by Carl’s late father has now put a claim on the estate for so called monies owed. This now means Carl & others in the family due to get cash payments then a trust fund will quite possibly have to wait 2 years or even longer for the case to be resolved in court. Not forgetting the loss of inheritance to all concerned in legal fees.

Carl & Lek now do not have the income they used too & the family do not have any more funds in the pot to lend. This means that the only option is that they stay apart totally until the will is resolved or Lek ends up just overstaying in the UK thus risking deportation & permanent expulsion.

Carl cannot afford to live in Thailand so the only chance of them being together is Lek applying for a long term visa that would all in all cost

$3,000

Carl & Lek have pawned their Jewellery to finance a holiday visa to the UK for Lek but will not know the outcome of that application for some 4 weeks. So again in debt just to try to be together.

The intention is when Lek is in the UK to use any funds begged as they see it to change her visa to one allowing her to stay in the UK & to secure some long term accommodation for the both in the private sector as they do not have the required status to on a housing list.

This if obtained would allow Lek to work & being a grafter all her life she would do gladly. It would also allow her to care for her Husband & for Carl to be in better mental health having his wife whom he adores by his side.

They do not like to be in this position of having to beg for stranger’s kindness & understanding & are ashamed at having no choice but to do. But live in the hope that one day they can have tears of joy at being together forever rather than tears at being separated once & for all.

Thank you for your time

Peace be with you

Carl & Lek x