Western countries, including the US, have pleaded with Israel to hold back from attacking the southern city, which is sheltering more than a million Palestinians
mena1 hour ago
Back in September, an amnesty-seeking pregnant Bangladeshi woman, Jannatul Ferdous, and her husband Mohammed Musa stared at a bleak future. Their overstay fines had piled up to Dh119,000 and they could not avail of the visa amnesty for their two children, Mariam and Masood, due to non-payment of their hospital bills. With another baby on the way, they were struggling to make ends meet. Worse still, due to their "illegal" residential status and lack of medical insurance, hospitals were charging an exorbitant amount for her delivery.
Khaleej Times highlighted their plight on September 13. Thanks to the timely report, help and support has come through for the family, giving them a new lease of life. Ferdous and Moosa have been granted a job-seeker visa by the UAE immigration authorities and their overstay fine was pardoned.
What's more, the hospital has also waived off a large part of their bill. "Thumbay Hospital waived off Dh7,000 of the approximately Dh12,000 delivery charges. We had to pay a lesser amount, and it was a huge relief," said Ferdous.
Interestingly, their fortunes took a turn for the better with the birth of their third child - Mohammed Marzuq - on October 18 at the Thumbay Hospital in Ajman. The two-month extension (till December 31) of the UAE amnesty proved to be a great boon for the couple. "The UAE amnesty has given my family everything. The extension, especially, has saved us so much trouble," an elated Ferdous said.
"The article in Khaleej Times brought our plight to attention and help poured in from different quarters."
Ferdous and her husband did not even have their passports with them and the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi issued new ones for them. Mohammed Imran, the Bangladeshi ambassador to the UAE, said: "The amnesty extension has greatly helped all Bangladeshi amnesty-seekers."
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