Sharjah: There is no place like home and six-month-old baby girl Al Batoul Mariam and her parents were overjoyed to be back in Algeria after getting over a difficult year here.
The human concern and large-heartedness of a number of generous UAE residents came good for the family after they responded to Gulf News' story and joined hands to bring an end to the bad times little Al Batoul and her parents found themselves in.
Abdul Salam and his wife Mariam had come looking for work in the UAE more than a year ago but they ended up without a job or any money after being cheated by a compatriot.
Mariam gave birth to Al Batoul Mariam at Al Qasimi hospital in Sharjah but the hospital refused to issue a birth certificate for the infant till her parents cleared the hospital bill. Al Batoul Mariam was left without a chance to get identification papers and her status became that of an illegal resident.
The family had to spend several days and nights without food or shelter and had to make do with handouts from some kind residents.
Gulf News highlighted the family's plight two weeks ago and prompt assistance from a number of readers saw Al Batoul Mariam being eventually issued a birth certificate, a passport and identification documents. Readers also came forward to clear the hospital expenses of the family which came to Dh3,000.
The passport of the father, Abdul Salam, was withheld by the owner of the apartment where the family had been staying but was handed back after Gulf News readers vouched for the family.
Struggle for passports
Readers of different nationalities and religious backgrounds assisted the family in getting back their passports and making their eventual trip back home.
Abdul Salam, Mariam and their little girl returned home on Friday via Dubai Airport. They told Gulf News over the phone from Algeria that they are very grateful to everyone who had helped them reunite with their family. "My dream was to see my mother and my home again but I thought that I will never achieve it," Mariam said.
"We were unfortunate, we faced a lot of misfortune and gloom but we were given [a] hand of help by UAE residents," she said.
"We are happy and thankful to the generous people who helped us. We were distressed and in pain," she recalled. "We used to think day and night how we can have a birth certificate for our baby and how we could go back to our home. We are now in our country," she said.
Mariam, who used to work at Algeria's Ministry of Education and her husband, who was a lecturer at the Fine Arts University of the ministry, said they were cheated by one of their compatriots who told them to come to the UAE to realise their dreams only to take their money and flee the country.
When Mariam and Abdul Salam arrived at Dubai Airport, no one was waiting for them. They got help from a Dubai Police human rights official who helped them go to Sharjah and found a place for them to stay. The family was not aware of the residency rules and regulations of the country. They paid some people Dh8,000 in a bid to obtain residence visas. Given the circumstances, they were not able to find a job or a place to stay after they lost everything.
