UAE | Visa
Leaving behind happy memories and returning with a heavy heart
Among the absconding illegal workers who sought amnesty after going through several hardships, S.A., 43, an Indian housemaid, had a different story to share with Gulf News.
- By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:35 September 1, 2007
Abu Dhabi: Among the absconding illegal workers who sought amnesty after going through several hardships, S.A., 43, an Indian housemaid, had a different story to share with Gulf News.
According to her, she is leaving a 'holy land' (the UAE) today where she met a number of Good Samaritans who treated her well and gave her refuge whenever she was in trouble.
S.A. is one among 115 Indian amnesty seekers who availed themselves of free air tickets given by Indian community organisations in Abu Dhabi.
She said the free ticket was the last boon given by God during her four-year stay in Abu Dhabi. She may be only one among the absconders against whom no complaint was lodged by the sponsor. "My Emirati sponsor was a great man who used to address me as 'sister'. When he found a serious illness of my hand just four months after landing here, he was ready to give me a free ticket to go back home," she said. But she had come to the UAE as a housemaid after burning many bridges.
"Being a widow I was the only breadwinner of the family with my three children and my elderly mother who were living in a rented house. My relatives had already started searching for a groom for my only daughter who was 21 then. I could not think of going back empty-handed to those people who were waiting for a fortune from me."
To avoid such a 'disaster' she absconded from the Emirati sponsor's home and planned to take help from the Indian Embassy to find another job. She met a compatriot on the way to the Embassy who directed her to an Indian family.
Passport returned
"As I had serious illness in my hand, the family employed me as a babysitter. My mistress used to tell me I was lucky to be guided by a Good Samaritan to their home otherwise I might have landed up in some dubious racket." She called up her Emirati sponsor to apologise for absconding and requested him not to file a police complaint.
"The great man just told me to take care of my illness and returned my passport. I had already narrated my pathetic condition back home and he was sympathetic to me."
When the children at her new employer's home went to school after one and a half years, she started doing part-time jobs as a housemaid. Again when the illness turned serious due to hard work, she was fortunate to get refuge with another Indian family who entrusted her to look after their baby.
"The young couple always gave me money for my treatment and allowed me to take rest whenever I was ill. I don't like leaving them but amnesty is a chance to go back home."
She said she approached the Indian Islamic Centre in Abu Dhabi for free ticket to avoid burdening her present employer. "Otherwise they would have arranged it. But they have done more than enough for me."
She is satisfied as she could get her daughter married with the money saved from four years of work.
"Even though I had to give a huge amount as dowry for my daughter's marriage, my son-in-law is also a nice person. Although I could not earn much from here, at least I experienced the love and goodness of a lot of people. I always tried my best to be good and God must have rewarded me for that," said A.S. with a smile.
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