DUBAI // A mother who was viciously assaulted by three men when she was seven and a half months pregnant has described the anguish of not knowing if her unborn child was alive or dead.
Bleeding heavily and with a dislocated jaw, she was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment to avert a miscarriage - and doctors took 20 minutes to find her baby's heartbeat. "I was insane during those 20 minutes until they finally found it," she told The National in an exclusive interview yesterday.
Her baby girl was delivered a few weeks later, three weeks premature but in good health.
"When a pregnant woman is in shock, her body ejects the child immediately, you can just see the situation we were in during that time," the woman's husband said yesterday. "I cried like a baby when my daughter was delivered, partly from joy and partly from relief."
The Canadian couple were assaulted in the cafeteria of the Ikea store in Dubai on June 13, 2009. This week the three Emirati brothers who attacked them were sentenced to a month in prison and fined Dh12,000 at Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.
The couple's ordeal began while they were finishing their meal in the cafe at a large table for 12, and one of the brothers ordered them to move because the table was reserved for his family.
"I was not even challenged to a fight," the husband said. "They came up to us and told us that the table was reserved. I told them, my wife is pregnant and we have been sitting here for 20 minutes and are almost finished with our food, so we are about to leave anyway."
He was then punched in the back of the head and knocked unconscious. "He just said, 'Move now because I told you to move', and then he hit me."
His wife said: "The table was kicked across, almost hitting my belly. Then the older man punched me, knocking me to the ground.
"While my husband was unconscious one of the men grabbed a hard wooden stool and was about to hit him with it, but thank God for the intervention of a Syrian man and an Australian man who were in the cafeteria.
"After other women who were there picked me up and sat me on a chair, a security guard approached me and suggested that we move to a secure location."
Her husband said: "When you go to a family place you feel secure, but I realised in fact you are not."
The expectant mother was treated in hospital for a dislocated jaw that had to be wired shut for two weeks, and a twisted leg that was put in a plaster cast.
When doctors gave her the all-clear the couple left for Canada, where their baby was delivered.
Two months later they returned to Dubai, and visited Rashidiya police station more than 20 times before the case was moved to the prosecutors' office.
"More than the physical damage we suffered is the mental damage," the mother said. She still suffers nightmares and feels terrified when she sees men who look like her attackers.
"I was terrified when I came back and even today I cannot go to Ikea or pass by it," she said. "I am a strong woman, but just talking about it makes me shiver, and it makes me angry that I could not defend myself."
Despite widespread criticism of the apparent leniency of the sentence imposed on the attackers, the couple expressed their gratitude to the court.
"We are happy that the case came to court and that they were prosecuted, and we really appreciate the court for finding them guilty despite all that has happened." the husband said.
They also intend to take the matter further, to send out a message that such behaviour must not be tolerated, and will be filing a civil lawsuit against their attackers.
"We are appealing the sentence and waiting for the court proceedings to be complete before the civil suit begins," the husband said. "We are going to take this to the end. We have to finish this, and we have only started."
amustafa@thenational.ae
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
Company%20Profile
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Aston martin DBX specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Top speed: 291kph
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: Q2, 2020
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
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Company%20Profile
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Griselda
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MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
Sweet%20Tooth
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