Kerala couple die five days apart in Sharjah
Due to COVID-19 movement restrictions, couple could not be laid to rest in same place
Sharjah: An Indian couple from Kerala, who had been married for 35 years, died five days apart in the UAE, their family said on Sunday.
Sharjah resident Sophia Habeeb, 57, died on April 18 following a week’s treatment at a Dubai hospital.
Her grieving husband A.R. Habeeb Rahman, 66, passed away at a Sharjah hospital on April 23.
Neither of the deaths were related to coronavirus.
They are survived by three children — Haifa, Hana and Hamad – and Haifa’s three children.
Haifa, who had faced another tragedy of her husband’s death two years ago, said her parents were “very attached.”
“We knew they can’t live without each other,” said Haifa.
She said her mother had died of heart attack and had tested negative for COVID-19 three times.
“Papa died in the shock after our mother left us,” she said.
The children, who are employed in Dubai, decided to lay their parents to rest in the UAE, which has been their home.
Habeeb, who had landed in the UAE 43-years-ago, was working with a private company in Sharjah. Sophia had joined him here after their wedding in 1985.
“We tried our best to lay them to rest in the same place. But due to the movement restrictions we couldn’t do it,” said Haifa.
Sophia was buried in Al Quoz while Habeeb was buried in Sharjah.