Two illegal women afraid of seeking amnesty

Dubai: Two women fear to seek amnesty because they have illegitimate children.

The women, in their late 30s, were seen hovering around an amnesty centre in Sharjah with their young children.

They wanted to know the procedure to go home. The authorities have announced a three-month amnesty during which illegal residents must either leave the country or legalise their status.

The women fear they will be arrested because they have illegitimate children.

The women told Gulf News that they have their passports, but do not have any documents for the children.

They had come to the UAE on housemaid visas to work with families but absconded after they learned that they could make more money working part-time in various houses.

"I want to go home now. It is becoming difficult for me to work as well as take care of my child. At times I have to take my child to work," said one woman. She said the child's father left her soon after their son was born.

"He was an Indian whom I befriended after leaving my sponsor's house. I do not recollect where he was employed."

"Once the baby was born I vacated the house to avoid trouble. Since the child was born I have lived in constant fear of the authorities," she said. But the woman cannot prove that the two-year-old boy is her own.

K. Mathew, president of the Indian Association Sharjah, told Gulf News that the association has been receiving such cases since the amnesty was declared. "The women are advised to approach a senior Indian consul who is present at the association to assist amnesty seekers. But the women are required to provide proof that the child whom they claim as their own is indeed theirs."