Dubai: Three of the four Gazans - who were stranded at Sharjah International Airport for about a month because of the Israeli war in Gaza - have been allowed into the UAE on humanitarian basis.
Ehab Yassin, 25, Ahmad Hanowti, 24 and Salem Kaware'a, 22 were allowed to enter the country on visit visas organised by the Palestinian Embassy in coordination with the UAE government.
Similar arrangements are being done to help the fourth person, Zakaria Al Faseh, 28, to get him out as well, according to Dr Khairi Aridi, the Palestinian Ambassador.
"While I was held up at the airport, I felt like I was not free. So when I left I walked in the streets for long hours just to savour the freedom and enjoy some fresh air," said Kaware'a.
Last Thursday, Gulf News reported the plight of the four people who stayed at Sharjah Airport transit hall as no country could allow them entry, after the closure of the Rafah crossing border because of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza strip.
"We organised for their visit visas on humanitarian basis in coordination with the UAE authorities, as the situation is still hostile for Gazans to return back home," said Aridi.
Yassin, who stayed for almost a month at the airport following two unsuccessful trips to Egypt and Jordan, was relieved to have been granted entry to the UAE.
"When I was stranded at the airport I felt like the whole world had turned their back on the people of Gaza," he added.
"While the local citizens are being tortured by the Israeli war machinery, some of those who happen to be outside the Strip like me are not being allowed entry in other countries. There was no hope in sight but now this feeling is starting to change," said Yassin, who had left his pregnant wife and child in Gaza.
Hanowti, who is now living temporary at a friend's house, said he still feels uneasy, despite his reprieve.
"I am happy that I am free again but at the same time when I watch all this horror pictures coming out of Gaza, I get more worried about the state of my parents and siblings who are still there," said Hanowti adding that all three of them are looking for jobs as they do not have any money to support themselves.
