Dubai: The overwhelming majority of residents in Dubai are happy, according to a recent study, but concerns have been raised over the evils of taking loans that can even drive a person to commit suicide.
Around 96 per cent of UAE residents claim that they feel safe and protected from crime, a recent survey released by the Community Development Authority (CDA) shows. The same study points out that there is a different concern troubling the nation’s residents: paying back loans.
Results of the third Dubai Social Study showed that the highest percentage of loan seekers in Dubai are Emiratis at 35.2 per cent. Western Europeans, North Americans, Japanese, Australians and New Zealanders were surveyed as a single group and came in second at 19.4 per cent. The Arabs were the third at 18.3 per cent; while Asians and Africans borrowed money the least, and were last at 8.3 per cent.
A Dubai-based Indian woman, S.B., lost her husband when the accumulating credit card expenses and personal loan payments drove him to suicide.
“He first came to Dubai in 1956,” S.B. said. “In 1998, he applied for a personal loan to help his business develop and prosper as the banks denied him a corporate loan. He also made the mistake of using a credit card to pay for overdue payments on the five other credit cards.”
However, soon S.B.’s husband found that his entire salary was being spent on repaying the credit card fees and the personal loan. S.B.’s husband killed himself in 2007.
“He approached a number of newspapers asking for their help in seeking funds but to no avail.” she said. “That was in March 2007. By then, the worry had caused most of his personal relations to deteriorate. He committed suicide soon after,” she added.
Emirati M. A. said that she suffers from depression after losing her job, making it impossible to cover her hefty personal loan. “I received a loan to pay for my master’s degree and a new BMW car,” M.A., 34, said, “I thought I could easily pay it off since my salary was Dh50,000. I never ever expected to get fired from my job, and my savings are frugal. Now I am in debt.”
She said after getting fired she could not pay her loans, so the bank started calling her.
“As an Emirati I was lucky to receive some help from my government. The bank was also lenient with me. However, even with the help of the government, I am still in debt and I have no way to pay it.”
Mariam is currently struggling to find a job after she was fired six months ago.
“I live alone in Sharjah so, in addition to the loan, I have to pay for my rent and daily needs. The stress is unbelievable, it’s all I think about and it is driving me to depression . I am praying to God to get a job soon.”
N.T., a 24 year-old Palestinian graphic designer, said that he had to seek the bank’s help to cover his family’s expenditure, as well as his sibling’s university tuition.
“I received a personal loan of Dh120,000,” he said, “It seemed like the only way to help my family stay afloat after the market crash. Unfortunately, the bank, like clockwork, withdraws a quarter of my salary at the beginning of every month. This makes it almost impossible to save money, and I find that I am living only from pay cheque to pay cheque.”
N.T. said that he has plans to migrate to Australia, but the payments prove to be a formidable barrier to his aspiration.
“How am I supposed to move to another country with no savings?” N.T. said. “Money is needed to facilitate a smooth move and help you advance your personal goals.”
N.T. said that he suffers from migraines which, he speculates, are a result of the stress over the monthly payments.
“I barely suffered from headaches before,” he said. “At the end of the month I see little or no money left in my bank account. All my ambitions come to mind. It seems like their reality is remote. That thought alone is immeasurably stressful,” he added.
Razmig Bedirian is a Staff Reporter with Xpress, a weekly newspaper published by Al Nisr Publishing.
