UAE Helping Hands: Double joy brings worries

Nehal Manoun with month-old Zayed and Altaf Hussein with Khalifa. Satish Kumar / The National

After trying to have a baby for seven years, a Pakistani couple got more than they could have wished for.

Altaf Hussein, 26, and his wife, Nehal Manoun, became the proud parents of twins last month. While having two babies was a blessing, the expenses that followed were not.

Farmworker Mr Hussein was laid off just before the birth of his boys. The Dubai hospital where they were born charged Dh120,000 for the delivery and the cost of incubators for the twins, Zayed and Khalifa.

Mr Hussein had to give the hospital a blank cheque before they would let him take his sons home.

“If they submit the cheque they will find that there is no money in my account,” he said.

He asked the hospital for more time to pay the charges.

“We have no money to eat. If we eat one day then we won’t eat the other day. I can’t even buy clothes for my sons.”

The family was evicted from their one-bedroom flat because they could not pay the rent. They moved in with family.

“We are staying with [my father in law] but he is old and also unemployed. I know we are a burden but what can we do? He is a good man for taking us in.”

Mr Hussein is looking for a job but is worried about the cheque he gave the hospital.

“They said they will give me two weeks to pay before they give the cheque to the police,” he said.

His two weeks have ended and the hospital is threatening to press charges.

“I don’t know what to do. If they take me to jail, who will take care of my wife and children?”

Mr Hussein was born and raised in Dubai, as was his father and the majority of his family.

“Dubai is home to us. There is nowhere else we can go. Pakistan is not an option. I know I will find a job and my sponsor has given me time to look for one, but if I am deported because of this cheque then my life, my wife, my boys, is over.

“We have nowhere to go, no money, no house, nothing.”

Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of Zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber, said: “This case is particularly heartbreaking because the well-being and health of two young children is at risk. Mr Hussein was recently fired from his job and cannot afford the basic necessities that a newborn requires such as clothes, diapers and formula milk. While every case is different and they are all in desperate need of an assistance but it is always a priority for us when young children are involved. We pray and hope that the community will help relive this family’s plight.” he said.

IBAN numbers to donate:

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank: 9805 000 000 000 11530734

Dubai Islamic Bank: 80 0240 0035 2044 3195 201