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Foreign marriage leaves UAE national in penury

DUBAI — Unstable marriages between UAE nationals and foreign women pose a big question mark on the future of their children.

In one such case, UAE national Hani Khalifa Obaid — and his mother Thoria Mahmoud and grandmother, who are Egyptian nationals — are in misery after being abandoned by a UAE national, who was responsible for their well-being.

“We would like to highlight our problems as we have been ignored by the establishments concerned. We want them to find a solution to our problems because we have been reduced to begging for food and clothes,” 24-year-old Hani told Khaleej Times.

“I have difficulty in being accepted by the UAE society because my mother is a foreigner and for this reason I have been denied the benefits the UAE citizens enjoy,” he said.

One shared room in an old house of 11 rooms rented out to people of different nationalities — mainly Russians, Asians and Ethiopians — is a proof of their penury while their pale faces prove their ill health.

Hani lamented that his family has no source of income and they receive social assistance of Dh1,500 from Bait Al Khair, out of which they pay Dh1,200 for room rent and the remaining amount is used to feed three people.

“I knocked at all the doors to find a job to support my mother, who suffers from rheumatic fever, and my grandmother, who suffers from hernia. I would like to do something for the two women, who took care of me after my father divorced my mother when I was three months old,” he said.

“After my parents were divorced, I stayed with my grandfather, who paid all my personal and school expenses. After his death, I came to the UAE to stay with my father, who currently lives in a big house with his two Indian wives and 16 children. My father refused to let me go to school and found me a job in the defence when I was 14 years old, but my service was terminated and I was imprisoned for six months for driving a car without a licence,” said Hani.

“When I was 16, I asked my father and his wives, who treated me badly, to bring my mother to take care of me. Instead, my father kicked me out of home. I had no place to stay except parks and cafeterias. A year ago, I brought my mother to the UAE because I was sick and lonely,” he added.

“I applied for a job in several government and private institutions including Dubai Municipality, Union Cooperative, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Etisalat and Defence in addition to private institutions, but nobody responded,” he said.

Thoria said tearfully that foreign wives and their children do not receive any benefits when marriages break up. She also said that the UAE government should grant her citizenship so that she can take care of her son.

“My husband, who owns a boat and a house with eight rooms, never enquired about his son or gave him any money. His elder brother, who works in the defence, has in fact threatened to kill my son,” she said. “The landlord tried to beat up my son and asked us to vacate the house because we didn’t pay the rent for the last two months,” she said.

“When I came to the UAE, I found my son in misery. I have lost my dignity because of him and I have to beg for food for him. I need somebody to help my son find a job or give us a plot of land or a house so that we can get out of this unhealthy environment,” she said.

• UAE