Ajman: A Pakistani family in Ajman urgently needs around Dh17,000 to avert an imminent eviction from their apartment in Al Nuaimia area.
Shazada Asif Masood, 52, said he cannot afford the Dh2,400 monthly rent after losing his job four years ago due to an “absconding complaint”.
The total overdue rent has piled up to around 71,000 but the landlord is willing to accept an immediate and partial payment of Dh17,000 to hold off the eviction, Masood said. The remaining amount can be settled in stages, he added.
Masood, who has been living in the UAE for 29 years, said he and his wife had been working odd jobs to make ends meet since he lost his civil engineering job at a contracting company in Ajman.
“We are even running low on food now. Charities won’t help us because our visas have not been renewed. Some well-wishers did what they could to help. We could get evicted any day now. I don’t know who to turn to; we have nowhere else to go,” said Masood.
The couple has four children, all in their 20s. Three of them had to go back to Pakistan while a daughter continues to live with them.
“We cannot afford to pay for our children’s university studies here. If I could get employed again, I can start rebuilding our lives.”
Masood recalled the chain of events that led to their current situation. He said: “I was between jobs. However, due to some misunderstandings, I could not obtain a then-required No Objection Certificate. My employment visa application with the new company got rejected. I found out it was because of an absconding complaint.”
Masood said his former employer is willing to withdraw the complaint but “the process has stalled. It will take an indefinite period of time because the company has to first clear some unrelated and pending issue”.
Meanwhile, other bills and fines also continue to pile up for the family. “We have to clear immigration penalties and vehicle non-registration fines. I’ve lost count of how many of them there are now. How can we go back to Pakistan when we have these obligations here?”
Masood said at least one post-dated rent cheque has already bounced. “I fear the worst for my family,” he said.
