Dubai: A South African educationist arrived in the UAE from Cape Town last week to end the ordeal of four boys rendered homeless following the arrest of their parents.
Dorian Slingers told XPRESS that he wanted to take his nephews aged three, 14, 16 and 19 back to Cape Town. He said the boys were being looked after by a ‘well-wisher’ after their mother was arrested on July 21. The father has been behind bars for over four months, he said, noting that both the detentions were connected with financial offences.
“Despite the good care extended to them, the boys have been very traumatised since their parents’ arrests,” said Slingers who has come down with his wife. “The parents have authorised us to be the custodians of their children. Our immediate challenge was to get the boys’ documents in order so they could fly out. We had to raise the money to buy their tickets.”
Getting documents
Sharjah-based social worker Gladson Perreira, who has been helping the family, said getting the documents for the younger three boys was not difficult. “But the case of the eldest boy was more complicated as he had crossed 18 years of age. Thankfully, the paperwork is complete now and they have been issued out passes. They will be flying back to Capetown with their aunt on August 15.”
Slingers said he is heartened by the kindness of the social worker besides the family who put up the boys after their mother’s arrest. “Had it not been for them, we wouldn’t have known about the detentions and our boys would probably have been on the street. They have been spending money from their own pockets for the boys. We would like to express our gratitude to them.” He also thanked the UAE authorities and officials of the South African mission here for their support.
Asked what the boys had to say, Slingers said: “It’s not about what they are saying. It’s about what they’re not saying. They are afraid and have gone into a shell. They need a lot of debriefing and counselling. None of them has been able to attend school for the past one-and-a-half years because the parents were facing financial problems.”
Describing the family’s condition as “terrible”, Slingers said: “It could have probably been avoided with better financial management. The UAE is full of opportunities and it easy to get carried away. But it is important to understand the laws of the land and stay within their framework.”
Father to be deported
Slingers, who plans to be in the UAE till August 21, said the boys’ father is expected to be deported any day now. “There are a few cases against the mother about which even she had no clue about. We want to sort them out at the earliest and make sure we are doing the right thing. Hopefully, the parents will be reunited with their boys very soon.”
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