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Number of orphans rises

Mohammed Bakkar bin Haidar, General Manager of Beit Al Khair, told Khaleej Times that the number of orphans registered with the association had increased fourfold. These orphans, he added, are mainly residing in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

"We started receiving more orphans when we opened branches in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Our role is to help these orphans by finding their sponsors who take the responsibility of financing their education and daily expenses," Mr Bin Haidar said, pointing out that Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry, sponsored 50 per cent of the orphans in the association.

Mr Bin Haidar believes that the marriages of old UAE national men to young foreign women is the main reason behind the increase in number of orphans. Elaborating, he explained that the old men die leaving their young widows to raise the children.

He added: "At a very young age, children need a great deal of support and care from their parents. The absence or death of either parent, especially the father who is usually older than their mother, will make it very difficult for the mother to cater to the needs of the children. Now a widow, the mother will have to compensate the loss of her husband and she will have to bear the burden of ensuring that the sufferings of her children are alleviated."

Mr Bin Haidar urged UAE national men who are above 60 and are contemplating getting married again to think twice as their children will eventually be at the receiving end and are likely to suffer after their demise.

Quoting the results of a comprehensive study conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, he said: "The main factors contributing to the rise in the number of orphans were proven through the study which showed that the majority of the UAE men married to foreign women were aged with approximately 50 per cent of them above 40 years, while nearly 20 per cent were above 50 years old.

Meanwhile, 50 per cent of the foreign women married to UAE national men were 20 years old or below, while 87 per cent were over the age of 30."

He noted that a comparison shows that 67 per cent of men who married foreign women is above the age of 30, while foreign women who are above 30 and married to local men only comprise 30 per cent. "This shows that the age difference among such couples is 20 to 25 years," Mr Haidar observed.

Marriage between an old man and a young girl, Mr Haidar stressed, could adversely affect their children's lives. "The aforementioned figures bring us to the conclusion that the most of the foreign women who are married to aged UAE nationals are of a young age," he said.

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