Twice-abandoned Filipina girl in UAE dies after two years in vegetative state

Ajman: Fatima, the twice-abandoned Filipina girl whose heartbreaking story of survival in the UAE had moved thousands of Gulf News readers, has died at the age of 15 after spending more than two years in a vegetative state.

Her foster father, Syed Ali Moazzam from Pakistan, confirmed her death to Gulf News. Fatima, who had been living on a home ventilator and receiving round-the-clock care from her foster parents in Ajman, passed away at home after she was found unresponsive on Tuesday morning, he said.

"At 8.30am, her mother checked on her and she was awake. She was okay," Moazzam said.

"At 9.50am, I came home and went to her to give her milk and medicine. I saw she was not conscious…she was not breathing. We called the ambulance. They came, gave her CPR and took her to hospital. But she had already passed away at home."

Fatima had not been in a full coma but in a vegetative state for over two years. She was able to open her eyes briefly and follow small sleeping cycles, though unable to move any other part of her body.

"She would sleep, then wake up, sleep, wake up. She had stiffness and could not move on her own. She could only move her eyes," Moazzam recalled.

Gulf News had first reported on Fatima in 2019, when she had been abandoned in the UAE by her biological mother and later by her first set of foster parents.

Her mother abandoned her when she was a year old. She was then cared for informally by a couple for five years before they fell upon hard times and handed her over to friends in Ajman in December 2018.

Moazzam and his Filipino wife, Muozzama, took her in and became her primary caregivers. She had been with them ever since.

Following the Gulf News report, her biological mother briefly returned and helped Fatima secure a passport in 2020. However, Fatima was never able to get an Emirates ID or residence visa. Her foster parents said they could not legally adopt her or enrol her in school or secure insurance coverage for her without those documents,

“She never managed to go to school. We have been teaching her at home though she always longed to go to school,” Muozzama had said in the 2024 interview with Gulf News.

It was in April 2024 that Gulf News reported again on Fatima, after she was diagnosed with subcutaneous lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease that had left her unconscious and fighting for her life in hospital.

Brain oedema followed, leaving her in the vegetative state from which she never recovered. She spent more than two years of her life largely motionless, dependent on a home ventilator and constant care.

"It was lupus and oedema in the brain. The low platelets also affected her brain," Moazzam explained.

He said the couple bore the financial burden almost entirely alone. While government hospitals treated Fatima occasionally during emergency admissions without payment, routine care, medicines and home medical equipment had to be funded out of pocket.

"We did not get any support. We approached several charity organisations, but they were unable to help in the absence of an Emirates ID for her. We ended up getting into a rental case as we could not make our full rent payment due to her treatment expenses," Moazzam said.

The absence of documentation was an obstacle at every turn: no insurance, no charity eligibility, no legal pathway to adoption. "We were the ones providing for all her medical and other needs," he said.

Despite everything, Fatima used to embrace life with a spirit that stayed with those who knew her.

Moazzam recalled how she loved the UAE and its leaders, and how she had created vlogs about her life, bravely speaking about her fight for documents and sending messages of hope to other children. "She would tell other kids to stay brave, smart and never give up," he said.

"We took care of her when she was healthy and when she fell sick also. No child should go through what our Fatima has gone through. We hope she is in a better place and rests in eternal peace,” Moazzam said.

He said Fatima's biological mother, who had been absent for years after visiting only once during Fatima’s hospital stay, came to see Fatima after being informed of the death.

"Now her responsibility is over and she has come over," Moazzam said quietly.

Gulf News could not talk to Fatima's biological mother.

The foster parents are working with authorities in Ajman to arrange Fatima's funeral. She is expected to be laid to rest in the UAE once the family receives the clearance. A forensic report concluded that Fatima’s death was due to natural cause.

Gulf News has reached out to Ajman Police for a comment and is awaiting their response.