UAE | Visa
Lifetime in the shadows for children from nowhere
"I am not old enough to go to school," said Sheila, a six-year-old, who was born at home.
- By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:21 September 5, 2007
- Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News
Abu Dhabi: "I am not old enough to go to school," said Sheila, a six-year-old, who was born at home.
Little does she know that she was not being sent to school because she had no birth certificate or visa or passport. Born to a woman illegally residing in the country, she now stays with her father and does not know much of her mother.
Her father, who is a legal resident, is employed at a laundry in Umm Al Quwain. "I have a family back in India but here I came in contact with a Sri Lankan lady working as a housemaid with whom I later moved into an apartment," said Sheila's father Ravi, who has been in the UAE for the past 15 years.
"We got married and had two children. Our elder son Dinesh was born at the hospital but by the time my wife was pregnant with Sheila, she [had been] illegally staying in the country for years. So we were scared about going to the hospital and arranged the delivery to be at home," he said, adding that a midwife (non-certified) was called in for help.
Motherless
Ravi currently has no idea of the whereabouts of his wife. "When Sheila was still a baby, her mother was deported to Sri Lanka after [she was] caught in a police raid. It is during that time that the tsunami hit the country. [Since then] I have no information about her," claimed Ravi.
According to him, all his efforts to reach his wife at contact numbers in Sri Lanka were futile and he has stopped trying.
Children like Sheila and her elder brother Dinesh are neither sent to school nor allowed to play outdoors or taken to the hospital until an emergency arises. They have remained in shadows all their life.
"Is it my mother?" asked Dinesh before taking the phone from his father to speak to this reporter. Quickly answering the questions posed to him, he returned back to watching television at the laundry where his father works. Watching TV is one of the few things he is permitted to do "freely".
"Making use of the amnesty period, I went to the Indian Embassy and with the help of some social workers I managed to get outpasses for my children.
"The [other] processes were not easy. I went to India and confessed all ... to my first wife, who agreed to take care of my children.
"She also gave a legal statement in agreement to this," Ravi said. "My present problem is that I don't have enough money to get air tickets for my children. I'm hoping that some good Samaritan comes by to help us. My children are waiting to go back home and lead normal lives."
The story of Farha, a 11-year-old girl who was born at home without any medical supervision, is not much different. Her father Mumtaz runs a tailoring shop in Sharjah. "My wife had no valid visa when the baby was due, so she was not taken to the hospital. We used to visit a private hospital," said Mumtaz.
Since the child has no birth certificate or document, Farha stays at home while her father works and is not able to attend school. Asked about where his wife is currently, Mumtaz said that they got divorced and she is in India now.
Farha is well aware of her legal issues now and "only wishes to go back home at the earliest".
Farzana, a 28-year-old, residing in Sharjah, delivered at home the child she had "out of wedlock".
"I came here five years ago after paying money to a visa agent in India. Initially, I was not allowed to travel from the airport back in India. I bribed an official to come here.
"The agent asked me to hand over all my belongings to the man who came to receive me at the airport here. When I arrived, I was taken to a flat where many women were staying. To my utter dismay, I realised that I had fallen into a prostitution racket," said Farzana, still horrified at what happened to her.
Prostitution ring
"I was asked to comply with the requests of customers who visited the flat and when I refused they starved me for several days at a stretch. And then one day a man pulled me by my hair and hit me on the wall. I was forced to sell myself.
"For two months the situation continued and then one of the customers, P.H., who heard my plight agreed to save me.
"We somehow managed to run out of the flat. P.H. helped me find a room in Sharjah and work as a maid for a living.
"Later I became pregnant with his child," she said, adding that they are not legally wed.
Farzana's passport was later obtained by P.H. after paying Dh4,000 as compensation to those who ran the prostitution racket.
Today, Farzana is the mother of three-year-old Khadeeja. Both of them are set to return back to India in a couple of days.
Ravi, Mumtaz and Farzana have processed their papers and are now looking forward to a new life back home.
"My present problem is that I don't have enough money to get air tickets for my children. I'm hoping that some good Samaritan comes by to help us. My children are waiting to go back home and lead normal lives.
Unmonitored birth at home is 'dangerous'
By giving birth at home with no medical team (obstetricians or midwives) present, people are placing themselves and their unborn child at high risk, said Dr Dawn Owens Robinson, a gynaecologist at the American Hospital in Dubai.
Risks during delivery could include shoulder dystocia, when the baby's shoulders get trapped in the pelvis. If the baby is delivered vaginally, the nerves in the shoulder and arms could be seriously injured. In such a scenario, a caesarean section is often required.
Haemorrhage or heavy bleeding can occur during labour or at the time of delivery and may require special procedures, medications, transfusions and surgery.
If the mother has not had prenatal care, she could have undiagnosed blood pressure problems or diabetes, which would put her at increased risk during a home delivery.
The newborn could require emergency assistance - like oxygen or medications - and special monitoring. If a woman delivers at home none of these emergency conditions could be handled when necessary, Dr Robinson said.
On an average, if a patient initiates prenatal care around 12 weeks of pregnancy she would require 12 to 14 routine visits, if she is at low risk. Prenatal care also allows monitoring of the mother and the foetus for any complications.
- R.A.
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