Dubai For the 170 families who were forced to move out of a building that caught fire in Sharjah on June 16, the past month has been a veritable hell. But one Indian family has had reason to smile through the ordeal.
Logistics officer Hatim Haider Songadawala, his wife Fatima and their two-year-old son Huzaifa had fled their 13th floor apartment at the Corniche Al Madina Building in Al Nahda with just their passports in hand after a fire gutted an electrical room.
The building went without power and water and they moved in with Hatim’s sister, a family of five living in a one-bedroom apartment close-by. When there was no sign of the utilities being restored in their building even three days later, a frustrated Hatim texted a radio channel host about their plight.
He said when the morning show host on the channel took him on air and asked him about the details, he spilled the beans as he was in a bad shape and had been rendered homeless. A desperate plea for help was also made.
“Two days later, I received a call from the radio channel, saying the Citymax group of hotels was willing to put us up in their hotel in Sharjah for a month during which time we could find alternative accommodation. They said it would be free of cost with a complimentary breakfast,” said Hatim.
So the family checked into the hotel on June 27. Amidst the losses they had suffered, they were now counting their blessings.
“It was like a paid holiday in the middle of an ordeal,” said Hatim, who is yet to get the promised refund of his rent deposit, his rent for July and three post-dated cheques from the landlord of his apartment. “The landlord owes me Dh13,000.”
But while getting the money back was a long battle ahead for Hatim, he said he did not want to unduly exploit the generosity of his hosts at Citymax. On July 14, he and his family moved out of the hotel, a week before their scheduled check-out. “We have now taken a one-bedroom flat for Dh26,000 a year,” he said, adding that Citymax gifted him a brand new refrigerator for his new home.
