LYNNWOOD — Adi Gucake grew up in Fiji, playing sports, attending school and spending time with her parents, family and two younger siblings.
Then on May 19, 2000, when parliament was taken over by revolutionaries, everything changed for Gucake, currently an Edmonds-Woodway High School junior.
“When this happened,” Gucake said, “my freedom was taken away.”
Her father, Josaia Gucake, was a senator in Fiji, but wasn’t at the parliament building that day, Adi Gucake said. The following months were difficult and the family came to the United States to seek political asylum.
The family has been living in Lynnwood since Jan. 1, 2001, she said, close to extended family including aunts, uncles and cousins.
Josaia Gucake applied for political asylum, but the request was denied, as was his appeal, she said.
As of The Enterprise deadline, the Gucake family was still in the United States, although they could soon be deported, said Mike Milne, spokesman for the Seattle office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Adi Gucake, 15, was on her way home from Edmonds-Woodway High School on Oct. 6 when she heard that her parents had been arrested and were to be deported to the South Pacific island nation.
Adi Gucake, her siblings and three cousins have been separated from their parents since the day they were arrested. Josaia Gucake, his wife, Grace, along with Lavenia and Jona Yacatini and Sivoki and Atama Nawaciono, were being held in Tacoma by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at The Enterprise deadline.
Although adjusting to life in the United States took time, Adi Gucake said she enjoys it here and does not want to leave.
“One thing I really enjoyed here is all the opportunities and the education,” Adi Gucake said.
She said the schools in Fiji are not as good as the ones she has attended here. She is concerned about future education and job possibilities, as well as her family’s ability to start over again, financially, in Fiji.
Since the arrests, the family has received much support, said Chris Kratz, administrative secretary at Edmonds-Woodway High School. Kratz contacted people in the community who called area politicians, including U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee and state Sen. Paull Shin.
“We’re just in shock,” Kratz said.
Kratz said that because a decision has already been made on the family’s deportation, there is little that can be done to keep them in the United States. The family is now trying to organize ways to raise funds to cover the cost of shipping, she said.
“(We want to) raise money to send their belongings back to Fiji,” Kratz said.
Vicki Clark, a counselor at College Place Middle School, knows children in the Gucake and extended families.
Clark said that many of the students at the schools are upset their classmates have to leave.
Adi Gucake played on the junior varsity volleyball team at Edmonds-Woodway, and although varsity coach Mike Pittis does not often give away spirit awards or recognition, he made an exception this year, Clark said.
“He did initiate an Adi Gucake motivational award to be awarded annually in her honor,” Clark said.
Kratz said the family appreciates the support.
“People just hate to see this sort of thing happen.”
Herald reporter Bill Sheets contributed to this article.
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