Abu Dhabi: Some inmates who are in debt will soon receive help, Emirates Red Crescent announced on Sunday.
Ataya (which means donations), an annual charity exhibition, will be held for the third time in Abu Dhabi to provide financial aid for prisoners in the UAE. This will comprise paying off outstanding debts, buying air tickets for those who face deportation and helping prisoners’ families.
Held under the patronage of Shaikha Shamsa Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, assistant to the President of Emirates Red Crescent for Women’s Affairs, the fair will take place in Abu Dhabi Country Club from May 4 to 7.
“Ataya is not only an exhibition to display products, it is a humanitarian participation to support prisoners, assist their families, and provide help for patients with a chronic medical condition within the UAE or outside,” Mohammad Atiq Al Falahi, secretary-general of Emirates Red Crescent, said.
“Ataya raised money earlier for the Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon as well as autistic children within the UAE. However, this year’s exhibition will be dedicated to the prisoners and their families through the Al Faraj Relief Fund,” he added.
Organised by Emirates Red Crescent, the fair will comprise a fashion collection, jewellery and household accessories designed by Arab and international innovators and craftspeople.
The four-day exhibition aims to allocate the proceeds from renting out outlets as well as entry ticket sales and donations contributed by attendees to prisoners and their families.
“We have around nine correctional institutions and there is a special committee and specific criteria to select a number of detainees who will receive financial aid. The most important condition is to ensure that the prisoners have not had any financial support recently,” Colonel Ali Saeed Al Zayoudi, head of the sentences execution and prisoners affairs department at the Ministry of Interior, said.
The fund has provided assistance to more than 2,000 prisoners since it was set up in 2009. Some 105 Emirati prisoners and 264 families benefited from the fund in 2012 and 2013.
Around 60 companies and organisations will be taking part in the exhibition.