A cry for help from a life of untold misery

Dubai: Abandoned by the man, a family of five is crying for redemption from a life of hellish proportions.

The family — a woman, her son and three daughters — reside in a dilapidated shack in Satwa, Dubai, surviving just day by day.

For the last three years they have not heard from the "alcoholic and abusive" man of the family who is in jail somewhere in the UAE.

The family is falling apart due to their poor living conditions, said Huda, the eldest daughter.

Huda, a frail figure of 20, recounted the harrowing story of her family, looking over her shoulder every now and then fearing that she will wake up her elder brother sleeping in the shack.

Her mother, wearing a dress riddled with holes, moved around the shack talking to herself incoherently.

She lost her sanity after years of abuse at the hands of her alcoholic husband and trying to take care of her children all by herself.

"She lost it," Huda said looking at her mother. Her mother now enjoys looking after eight dogs and eating with them. Her brother brought the animals home one day, she said.

Hanan, her 16-year-old mentally challenged sister, was rescued two years ago from the shack by a charity organisation following humanitarian efforts by individuals.

She was suffering from seizures and was facing certain death from festering wounds all over her body.

Huda said her 22-year-old brother has grown up accustomed to abusing his sisters. Once her sister Hind, 18, was severely hit by Mohammad because she cursed him aloud. "She was bleeding profusely," Huda said.

"We used to earlier pray that he be guided on the right path. Now we ask God to destroy him," she said.

The family survives with donations from charities and the siblings are unable to continue their education, and have only reached elementary level, said Huda.

"We do not have water supply and sometimes we do not get any electricity," she said.

Their shack was recently flooded, except for one small dark area where the family tries to shelter to keep warm and dry, she said.

She said the family members have no papers to prove their nationality. Huda said she does not know the nature of her father's crime.

Huda said her mother had once reported to the police that her father had stolen her mother's jewellery.

"I want my father back," said Huda adding that even if he is abusive "we still need a sane parent in the house".