Family evicted from Satwa home now lives in tent

Dubai: A Satwa woman has resorted to living in a tent with five children on being evicted from her home as the summer heat kicks in.

Emirati Zahra Mohammad said she was evicted from her home in Satwa by her landlord as the house she was living in with her Iranian husband, their four children and her brother's orphan, was marked for demolition.

Having been paying a rent of Dh24,000 per year, Zahra told Gulf News she moved between relatives' homes until their hospitality was exhausted.

"That is when I set up a tent outside my father's house, hoping that someone would see me and offer to help," she said.

Zahra said that her husband, a driving instructor on a Dh3,800-a-month salary, has since been sleeping in a mosque, hoping to find affordable housing for his family. Since being evicted she has lived in her brother's and father's house, both of whom told her they cannot accommodate her large family.

"I can understand my family's situation. My brother has seven children and my father has a six-bedroom house with sixteen people living in it," said Zahra.

Zahra said she gave her furniture to her former landlord in lieu of money she owed. The only belongings Zahra has left are a couple of blankets, a few plates, a borrowed fan and a tube light. The fan and tube light are powered through an electric cord extended from her father's house.

Her youngest child, sixteen-month-old Fadeela cries "day and night" due to irritation from the heat, said Zahra. Educated up to grade eight, Zahra said she would look for a job if she did not have so many children to take care of.

"We have to ask neighbours for water to prepare Fadeela's milk. For meals, I hand my children plates and ask them to check if the neighbours would be willing to donate any food. With food being so expensive these days, the neighbours often refuse," she said.