Arab woman without daughter’s passport and with ex-husband AWOL turns to Dubai Police for help

Without the passport or her five-year-old daughter's other documents, the mother was not able to obtain medical treatment for the girl or even enrol her in school.

DUBAI // An Arab mother of a five-year-old girl felt there was nowhere to turn when her former husband left the country, taking his daughter’s identification papers with him.

Col Mohamed Al Mur, director of the Human Rights Department, said that without the documents, the girl had been unable to receive medical treatment or enrol in school.

After being turned away by her country’s embassy and in despair, the mother turned to Dubai Police, who set about helping her track down the father, who left three years ago, whereabouts unknown.

“We also contacted the relevant authorities and the embassy of the country from which the family came and persisted to resolve the problem,” said Maj Shaheen Al Mazmi, director of the Child and Women Protection Unit.

“The issue was escalated to one of the Arab country’s highest-ranking officials, who authorised in an official letter that the girl be given a passport.

“The mother is a legal resident of Dubai, and we are working to have a visa issued for her daughter,” he said.

“This was teamwork, and we are thankful for the Foreign Ministry, the Arab consulate and all relevant authorities.

“I don’t think anyone understands how happy the mother was when her daughter finally received a passport. The girl’s grandmother was throwing her hands in the air because she was so thankful.”