Indian expat mother's Facebook plea helps her fly home from UAE after years

Dubai: When Hasta Mahananda recorded a short, desperate video on Facebook and hoped someone would see it, she had no way of knowing it would be the thing that will finally take her home after years.

The single mother of three from Odisha, India, had been working in the UAE since 2019.

She visited home once and returned in 2022 and was allegedly not allowed to go home after that, the Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed to Gulf News on Sunday.

After years without her passport in hand, no way to leave, and no contact with her family back in India for over three years, she did the only thing she could: she recorded her plea and put it out into the world.

The video found its way to officials at the Indian Consulate General, setting off efforts to trace her, free her, and fly her home.

Court case back home

Back in Odisha, her family had grown increasingly worried. After approaching several authorities without success, they took the matter to the Odisha High Court, which formally contacted the Indian Mission in the UAE and requested diplomatic intervention.

Around the same time, the Facebook video gave officials another thread to pull.

The Consulate sought to trace her details through official channels, the All India Radio reported.

“When those replies were still awaited, officials dug further, locating her passport number, pulling her visa records, and working backwards through her sponsor details to identify her local sponsor, who connected them to a company manager,” it said.

On May 12, the company manager walked into the Consulate General’s office in Dubai with Hasta Mahananda beside him.

Accommodation, transport

The consulate confirmed that once Hasta was located, officials reviewed her passport, cancelled her visa and labour contract, arranged accommodation within the consulate premises for about 15 days, and provided food throughout her stay.

Speaking after her release, Hasta described her ordeal in a video published by the All India Radio and reposted by the consulate on X.

"Seven years ago, I came to Dubai. The company where I was working wasn't later letting me go home. I made a Facebook video. It's been four months. The consulate finally traced me and sheltered me for about two weeks. I have three daughters studying back home — in grades 10, 7 and 5. I was really worried. Now my visa has been cancelled and my Emirates ID too. The consulate gave me a ticket, and I am leaving for India. I am flying home and I am very happy."

After the consulate’s involvement, her employer settled all outstanding salary and end-of-service dues, the mission confirmed to Gulf News.

The consulate also funded her air ticket through the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF), a resource Indian Missions use to support distressed Indian nationals abroad.