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29 March 2024

Arab mom, kids stuck at airport for 4 days

Authorities retrieved the woman's passport after paying all her hospital expenses, cancelled all overstay fees and bought air tickets [Picture Courtesy: Emarat Al Youm]

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By Staff

Dubai’s immigration authorities cast aside their tough regulations and intervened to help a Palestinian mother and her two little sons who sought shelter at the airport mosque for four days after she ran out of money and was unable to fly home.

Authorities said they intervened to end Abeer’s ordeal on humanitarian basis after she was stuck at the mosque without money and passport, which was seized by a local hospital after the woman failed to pay her delivery expenses.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Chief of the Dubai’s general administration for residency and foreigners’ affairs, himself rushed to the airport and talked to Abeer after he was told by airport authorities about her problem.

“We dealt with this problem as a humanitarian one since the woman ran out of money and could not recover her passport or buy air tickets…she also could not pay overstay fees or her apartment’s rent…she had no choice but to come to the airport mosque and stay there,” he told Emarat Al Youm Arabic language daily.

He said, “Authorities retrieved the woman’s passport after paying all her hospital expenses, cancelled all overstay fees, bought air tickets for her and the two children, and put them on a flight to Jordan to reunite with her husband.”

Abeer told the paper that her husband had flown to Jordan for a new job but was unable to return to Dubai for them after the expiring of his visa.

“I had no money, no relatives and no friends to help me…I suffered for four days and never stopped crying before Dubai’s authorities rushed to my help,” Abeer said.