Feline Friends volunteer forced to leave country

Dubai: A senior volunteer at one of the UAE's most popular charities is leaving the country after being forced out of her family villa.

Sandra Zeidan will return to her native Austria with her two daughters, Zeina, 5, and Noora, 3, in June but her husband Waleed, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent, will remain in the UAE due to work commitments.

Sandra, who is coordinator for fostering and adoptions at Feline Friends (FF), had no plans to leave her home in Dubai but her family was served with an eviction notice several weeks ago because, she said, the "landlord wanted to use the property".

She will leave her voluntary position at the charity and return home because she cannot afford any other property in the area.

The 41-year-old moved into The Springs in New Dubai about four years ago. She had been due to renew her rental contract at the end of March but a few weeks ago the real estate company faxed her and Waleed a letter in Arabic.

Sandra said: "My husband looked at it and his face went pale. He said we had to vacate the villa by the end of February; I was speechless for a moment. We have managed to get a short extension but I will be leaving Dubai with the children at the end of June. It was completely unexpected. My father is coming across to take my daughters across to Austria; I'm determined they won't suffer this whole dissolving mentality that their life is changing. They were born here and they grew up here..

"I will miss Dubai and I'll miss Feline Friends especially the constant contact with people I have become very good friends with. My friends live here and my husband's work is nearby; The Springs is where our life is."

Feline Friends is a non-profit organisation founded in 1991 by Lesley King, a British expatriate, in Abu Dhabi. A few months later Jackie Green, an American expatriate, started a sister organisation in Dubai. Sandra has volunteered at the charity for just over two years.

She added: "I took over the charity's adoption line last summer before taking control of the foster line shortly after. It was quite stressful as many residents are desperate to offload their cats.

"We are so busy at the moment; the phone doesn't stop ringing and we get about 30 e-mails a day from people looking for us to take their pet because they have to leave at short notice. These are pets, not pieces of furniture but many people are left with no choice and we've seen an increase in the number of cats and kittens being abandoned; we tend to find them in garages or basements crying and hungry. I want to help my successor by encouraging residents to make sure they have their cats fully vaccinated [including rabies], neutered and chipped in case of sudden relocation."