Illegal residents turning to drink

Illegal residents in Dubai, who have nowhere to go, are making public parks and pavements their homes. This is landing many in trouble with the law enforcement authorities - but not only due to their legal status and choice of dwelling.

Many of these drifters in Satwa and Karama are turning to alcohol abuse, say social workers.

K Kumar, Convener of Indian Community Welfare Committee (ICWC), the social service arm of the Indian Consulate in Dubai, said alcoholism among illegal residents is a serious concern.

He said many people who dwell in public parks live on alms, and after eating three meals a day, they have enough money to buy alcohol, Gulf News reported on Monday.

"There are many volunteer organisations that used to visit parks and offer financial help to the needy. But now we are discouraging the practice as it is encouraging them to continue their illegal stay in the country," said Kumar.

He said ICWC volunteers have found bootleggers are active in areas such as Satwa Park because many illegal dwellers there become their regular customers.

Social workers are taking the initiative to arrange for their exit passes from the respective embassies and repatriate them to their countries.

A man who runs a cafeteria next to Satwa Park said he has seen some illegal residents indulging in a drunken revelry late at night.

"There are people who deliver alcohol to these people. There were groups who used to sit and drink till late. But nowadays there are not many people as the police regularly round them up from the park. I think many of them were also sent back home under the initiative of some social workers," he added.

Meanwhile, the illegal inhabitants say they are using parks just to rest and sleep.

Many of them have stories of coming to Dubai with dreams of earning a decent living and supporting their families back home. They have been cheated by the recruiting companies, sacked or failed to find a job.

The passports of many of them are with their employers who are refusing to hand them back or have simply vanished after shuttering down their businesses. Now without a dirham in their pockets a public park is the only place they can call home.

"My company has not paid me for seven months. I have neither money nor a place to stay. I came to Dubai nine months ago and do not know anybody here," said Mohammad Jalal, a Bangladeshi worker.

Bobby Joseph, Vice-President of Valley of Love, a charitable organisation, said his organisation has come across incidents where some people take advantage of the help the organisation offers to illegal residents.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Al Muhairi, Director of the Dubai Police's Tourist Security Department, called on residents to report any illegal activity they see immediately.

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