Cancer patient stuck in UAE due to court case seeks help to return home for treatment

Dubai: A Pakistani man battling leukaemia is hoping he will receive the required financial help to him clear his court dues and fly back to Lahore for immediate treatment.

Masood Hassan, 62, is appealing to the public to approach the Pakistani Association in Dubai to help raise the money for him by early next week, as he has no job, no documents and does not have access to any kind of treatment.

Hassan, who has been in the UAE for over 40 years was running a successful business selling Pakistani rice, but was caught in a business fraud a few years ago which cost him almost all his money and led to the closure of his shop and warehouse, Dr Faisal Ikram, General Secretary of Pakistan Association, told Gulf News.

He now needs to settle dues of Dh230,000 and other immigration fines to be able to leave the country and get a second chance at leading a normal life.

Speaking to Gulf News, Hassan says, “I wasn’t aware of my condition in the beginning, but I felt like my body was getting weak. I was unable to eat or drink and needed someone’s support to walk,” he says, taking a deep breath after each sentence. “When I managed to get a blood test, they told me I was suffering from leukaemia.”

His only hope, he says, is to get treated in a specialised cancer hospital in Lahore.

“I just want to be able to live, there’s no other objective in my life at the moment. I hope I can get there at the earliest to begin treatment,” he says.

Members of both the Pakistani and the Indian communities have come together to help raise money for Hassan. But there is Dh230,000 more to be raised.

“Hassan had sold everything he owned to settle Dh160,000 of the total amount of Dh390,000, but now he doesn’t have anything left to support himself. He is unable to begin his treatment here because his documents have been confiscated by the court,” Dr Ikram said.

Hassan is currently staying with an Indian family he has known for many years. He says they have been of great help to him in his current crisis. “I hope I’ll be able to leave for Pakistan on Sunday and start my treatment, I hope people will come forward to support me.”