Jailed Emirati woman starts receiving help

Donors, reacting to appeals through the media, have offered more than Dh71,000 to an Emirati woman jailed in Dubai due to accumulating debt after she was swindled by her friend, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

Salwa Bilal, 38, has received Dh71,250 from unknown donors but she still needs nearly Dh68,750 to pay back debt and regain freedom, the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum said.

One unknown man donated Dh40,000 while Dh10,000 was offered by another man and the same sum by a woman. The rest were sent by a few other donors following the woman’s appeal for help this week through Emirat Alyoum.
“These funds made Salwa more hopeful but her ordeal is not over as she still needs Dh68,750 to settle her debt and regain freedom,” the paper said.

Salwa’s problem began when she decided to enter the world of business with her friend after gaining career experience from her three-year job in a key Dubai hotel and a similar period in a local bank.

The business involved a tailoring workshop and she had to travel abroad to buy equipment for the project.

“I got a bank loan and bought the needed equipment and returned home….after a while I fell ill and had to be admitted to hospital for a surgery,” she said.

“When I was out of hospital, I was surprised to learn that all the equipment and ownership documents had disappeared……I was swindled by my friend but could not do anything about it….I could not return to my job because of my illness while I had to support my family…as a result, I could no longer pay my debt, which is now around Dh140,000.”
 

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