DUBAI // Lubna is a 38-year-old mother who fears she will soon be forced to live on the streets, along with her three-year-old son.
She lives in a rented flat paid for by a benefactor. “It’s paid for until the middle the month but then I am on the streets,” she says.
Lubna wasn’t always living with the threat of homelessness. She came to Dubai seven years ago from Syria with her husband, Khalid Al Shoufi, 44.
Her husband was hired to work for a Dubai magazine and was earning enough money to support them both. Their life was stable until her husband was forced to resign in 2015.
“Khalid was put under a lot of pressure at work and asked to give in his resignation,” she says.
Once her husband left his job, the bills starts piling in. “We had to pay our rent and we had a loan of Dh50,000, which we had paid half of.”
The couple were unable to pay their dues and evicted.
“On the same day, he booked me a ticket back to Syria in spite of the situation being very dangerous in our town.”
Lubna’s son was almost a year old.
“Khalid moved in with his friends and started looking for a job so that he could bring us back,” she says.
But a month later, Lubna received a call from a hospital. They informed her that her husband had suffered a stroke and was in a coma.
“I came back on the first plane I could get,” she says. “I am still in shock. Khalid was never ill or complained of anything.
“He called me a day before his stroke and was very happy. He said that he had found a job and would send for us soon.”
Mr Al Shoufi has been in a coma for more than a year and doctors told Lubna that the chances that he will come out of it are very low. They have no relative in the UAE or any financial support.
“I went back to Syria for a few months to collect money from friends,” she says.
Now, however, she has run out of the little she had.
“I can’t leave my husband here alone and it’s too dangerous for me to go back to Syria with my son. There is a war going on and it’s not safe for anyone.”
When the situation got to the point where she had no food to eat or a place to stay, Lubna says she thought of taking her husband to Syria.
“No hospital in Syria agreed to take him in,” she says. Her husband is on life support and will not survive without it.
In a few days, Lubna says, she will be homeless.
“I just need a roof over my head for my son and I,” she says.
Lubna has a degree in communications and says she is looking “every day” for a job.
At one point, she says, she worked rolling vine leaves to make enough to buy food.
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber, says Lubna needs help.
“Even if going back to Syria is an option, her husband is on his deathbed and has no one to support him. They have a three-year-old son who is at risk of starving,” he said.
“Dar Al Ber has supported as much as possible but they need a roof over their head and a steady income.”
• To help, call the hotline on 0502955999, or send a WhatsApp message to the same number. Donations can be made by depositing money in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank account, Iban number AE9805 000 000 000 11530734 or Dubai Islamic Bank account, Iban number AE8002 4000 352 0443 1952 01.
salnuwais@thenational.ae
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'The Ice Road'
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
UAE%20ILT20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
