He abandoned sponsor due to maltreatment

DUBAI — He came to Dubai with a dream to rebuild the home which was destroyed by the killer tsunami waves in 2004.

By Riyasbabu (FOCUS ON AMNESTY)

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Published: Wed 25 Jul 2007, 8:48 AM

Last updated: Sun 5 Apr 2015, 3:19 AM

But the past four months that he has been in the UAE, 30-year-old Arif Salam from the coastal town of Ambara in Sri Lanka has been desperately trying to return home because he couldn’t stand the maltreatment by his sponsor.

When the treatment became unbearable, he ran away from the sponsor and contacted the immigration officials in a desperate bid to escape from the troubles.

Sitting under a shade in Jumeirah’s Follow-up and Investigation Office of Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) with a bag containing clothes, Arif shared his ordeal with this reporter.

“I was struggling to survive after my house was destroyed by tsunami in 2004. My entire village was devastated. I spent more than a year in a refugee camp. Then I shifted to a relative’s house,” he said.

“Four months ago a relative helped me to obtain a visa to work in the house of a UAE national. However, since the time I started working here, my sponsor has not paid my salary. Most of the time I had to go without food,” he said.

“When I heard about the amnesty, I decided to run away from the sponsor. I want to return home. I do not have a place to live there. But I cannot survive in this condition,” he pleaded.

A DNRD official on the spot said, “We consider this case as a serious offence. We will investigate the matter with the sponsor. If we find there was any violation of law, we will initiate action against the sponsor.”

“We are allowing him to stay in our shelter now. We will send him home once the legal procedures are over,” the official added.


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