Dubai: An Indian woman with two children aged 14 and seven is desperately seeking help to get out of what she describes as a “hellish” situation.
“I am shattered, totally broken. I don’t know what to do. Please help me get out of this hell,” she pleaded, weeping bitterly.
Faced with both a travel and a labour ban, the 38-year-old woman from Mumbai said she can neither return to her hometown nor take up a job here as she is caught in a messy legal and financial situation.
Unsuspecting victim
She claimed she became an unsuspecting victim in a fraud case while working at a UAE company. As a result, she said two legal cases were filed against her and she had to serve six months in prison, during which time her children were forced to quit school. Worse, she alleged her husband who was visiting India was also “implicated” in one of the cases and he had not returned to the UAE.
“I’ve been accused of owing money to my employer and God only knows I didn’t take any funds. With no way to prove my innocence, I served the prison term and friends helped me pay the fine, so the criminal case is closed. But I have also been accused of breach of trust in a civil case. I need the services of a lawyer to fight this case and also get my husband’s name cleared in the criminal case. But I have no money,” she claimed.
The woman said she was living off the mercy of friends who had provided her with shelter and reinstated her children in school. “I do not know how long this can go on. I also have a huge outstanding on my credit card and dread the implications of that. But how can I do anything about it if I cannot work?” she asked.
The woman said she had a job offer on hand, but cannot be employed because of the labour ban. “My husband is jobless in India and we have no support from our families. I have thought of ending my life on many occasions but have stopped myself because of the children. Who will look after them if I go away?”
Joseph Bobby, Vice-President of the NGO Valley of Love, said: “The family is struggling to survive. With each passing day, their condition is worsening. We want to reunite them and safeguard the children’s future. We are trying to get the labour ban lifted so that the woman can work again. She is also trying to get her husband’s name cleared in the earlier case so that he can come here and make a living. But she needs money to appoint a lawyer.”
