Dubai: A ten-year-old Indian child stranded in Kenya since March 13 was finally reunited with his family in Dubai on Friday.
There were emotional scenes at the arrival area of Dubai International Airport as Moiz Hussain ran into the waiting arms of mum Khadija who cried with joy as she hugged her son.
The eldest of three siblings, Moiz arrived in Dubai on a special Emirates flight from Nairobi around 10pm, ending a three-and-a-half month ordeal. He will be quarantined at home.
The grade five student had gone to Nairobi with a schoolmate’s family for the spring break. He was due to return on April 2, but got stuck due to flight suspensions over the COVID-19 pandemic, causing great heartache to his family.
Khadija said she had been counting the days since he left.
“We are so relieved to have Moiz back. Of course, this wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Dubai Police, Emirates airline and social worker Juhi Yasmeen Khan. Regular international passenger flights are yet to resume from Nairobi so our best bet was Flight EK9759 operated by Emirates SkyCargo. This required coordination with various authorities and a lot of paperwork, but I am glad everything fell in place,” said Khadija who is nine-month pregnant with her fourth child.
Moiz, who had developed homesickness, said he slapped himself twice in the plane to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. “I am very happy to be back among my loved ones,” he said. Khadija said she was thankful to Gulf News for highlighting their plight. Gulf News reported the story on May 24 after Moiz made an emotional video appeal, seeking help to return home ahead of his tenth birthday on May 28.
