Dubai: “No matter how much I talk about the UAE, I will not do it justice, and the same goes for Dubai Police, and everyone who offered their condolences and comforted us… They were with us at a time when we were in dire need of a word and a stance to alleviate our shock.”
With these words, Othman Ahmed Mohammed Al-Makki, the husband of the late Marwa Ahmed Al-Amin Bakheet, began his conversation, recalling a long journey of care and support that accompanied his wife’s family since the death of her father, who worked in Dubai Police, then through her mother, who joined the police after his death, then Marwa, who continued the journey, up to the two children who lost their mother at the moment of their birth.
Al-Makki said that that highlighting what the family is going through was not just covering a death, but a humanitarian attempt to hear the voice of a family that found itself facing a new reality after the departure of the sole breadwinner.
Maha Bakhit, the deceased’s sister, said: “I was born and lived my whole life in the UAE, and what the country, represented by the Dubai Police, has provided us cannot be forgotten. Since my father worked in the police force more than four decades ago, we have enjoyed care, and the police continue this role after my sister’s death.”
In detail, Al-Makki, the husband of the late Marwa, said that she was the youngest of her three sisters, and had lived in the Emirates since her childhood after the death of her father, who had been working in the Dubai Police since the 1980s.
He explained that Marwa’s father died when she was three years old, while the family was in Sudan on vacation, and Dubai Police intervened and offered his wife a job so that she could take care of her three daughters.
He added that his mother had been working since 1993 until her death from cancer in March 2016, noting that the Dubai Police’s care for her did not stop even during her illness, as they sponsored her treatment outside the country, and later sponsored the procedures for transferring her body and burying her.
He continued: “After the death of my aunt, Marwa’s mother, in March 2016, the Dubai Police’s care for the family did not stop. Just two months later, in May, Marwa was appointed to the police force to continue the path that her mother had started and to take responsibility for the family.”
He said that Marwa was supporting her sister, who was unable to complete her university studies after her mother's death, and said that she was not working, noting that his wife continued to bear her responsibilities in addition to the responsibilities of her married life.
Al-Makki pointed out that he proposed to Marwa in 2015, married her in 2017, and they lived for many years waiting to fulfil their dream of having children.
He added: “After years, God blessed us with a pregnancy with twins, and our joy was immense. Since February we had been living through the pregnancy period, and I was keen to take her to her work every morning, and I would come back to pick her up after her shift ended.”
He explained that the pregnancy was normal, and Marwa was only suffering from the usual fatigue, until the morning of the delivery, when she felt tired at about five in the morning, so they went to the hospital, even though the appointment for the check-up and delivery was scheduled for two days later.
He added: “They conducted tests on the two fetuses and the results were normal. Marwa also underwent tests and her condition was good and she was ready. She entered the operating room and everything was normal.”
He noted that shortly after, he received congratulations on the birth of the twins and was informed that his wife was fine and that everything was going well, but minutes later, a nurse came and asked him to sign a consent form for a blood transfusion if she needed it. “Then we waited for a while, and then the doctor came and told me: I don’t know what happened.”
He explained that the doctor told him that Marwa was in good condition, and that when she delivered the first child, she looked at him and talked to him, but with the delivery of the second child, she suffered sudden complications.
He added: “The doctor told me that she had suffered a heart and lung stroke, and that they were trying to resuscitate her. I was shocked, as she had been talking to me about 20 minutes earlier and seemed fine.”
He continued: “I went into a spiral, and then one of the nurses came and told me that she was out of danger and had been admitted to intensive care, but I felt that things were not normal. When I asked, they told me that her heart had stopped again and that they were performing resuscitation on her.”
He continued: “At 12 noon they told me of her death, and it was a very strong shock. I couldn’t comprehend that just hours before I had been with her, and I was now faced with the reality that she was gone.”
Al-Makki explained that after Marwa’s death, her older sister took over the care of the two children. She lives in Abu Dhabi and has five children, and he indicated that he saw her as the most capable at the moment to care for two infants who need constant monitoring.
He said: “I live in Ajman, and I go to them every two days, so I sit with them and talk to them, but having two children of this age requires constant care, and at the moment I cannot deal with the matter alone.”
He stressed that “what pains him the most is that his two children came into the world after a long wait, but they lost their mother at the moment of birth,” emphasising that no matter how much he talks about Marwa, he will not do her justice, for although she was the youngest of her sisters, she was sensible, wise, dutiful to her mother, and tolerant of everyone.
He added: “I saw in my wife the best that a husband can see. When I was working here and my financial situation was good, then I stopped working due to circumstances, she was the best support and help for me. Her support was not only financial, but she stood by me in everything.”
Al-Makki said that what many people do not know is that Dubai Police were present from the first moments of Marwa’s death, and the matter was not limited to offering condolences.
He added: “Since her arrival at the hospital, Dubai Police were present, as a team of police officers took over the procedures at the hospital, completed the burial procedures, and transported the body from Ajman to Dubai. They were with us at the cemetery and conveyed to us the condolences of the Commander-in-Chief.”
He continued: “Even after the burial, the follow-up continued. They would ask about us and check on our situation, noting that in circumstances like these, a person not only needs help, but also needs to feel that there is someone standing by his side.”
He said that condolences and sympathy reached the family from different levels in the Dubai Police, stressing that what the Dubai Police did with the family is not new, but goes back many years, starting with Marwa’s father, then her mother, then Marwa herself.
He said: “The story began with my wife’s father in the eighties, then her mother, whom the Dubai Police appointed after his death, then caring for her during her illness and treatment abroad, then appointing Marwa just two months after her mother’s death, and today this care continues with us and the two children.”
Al-Makki, who has lived in the UAE for about 15 years, said that his experience with Emirati society allowed him to see firsthand what he described as a culture of helping others and standing by them in times of hardship.
He added: “I lived in the Emirates for many years and dealt with the Emirati people, and the nature of this people is to be proactive in doing good, and the institutions here do not abandon their people.”
He expressed his gratitude to the UAE, Dubai Police, and everyone who stood by the family, saying: “No matter how much I talk about the UAE, I will not do it justice, and the same goes for Dubai Police and everyone who offered their condolences and comfort. Every word, every visit, and every action had a great impact in alleviating the shock.”
He concluded by saying, “What happened with the family, from my wife’s father in the 1980s, through his wife and then her daughter, up to their continued support of us and the two children today, is a long story of care that I will never forget.”
Regarding the situation of the two infants, he confirmed that they are receiving the necessary care from their aunt now in Abu Dhabi, and no matter how much he talks about her role, he cannot do her justice, noting that his late wife’s two sisters were expecting the birth just like their mother, so they are helping him in taking care of the two children.
He stated that his two children are named Fahd and Fahad, which his wife chose before her death, stressing that he is trying to stay strong as much as possible so that he can bear the responsibility for them.