WOMAN, 2 DAUGHTERS GO HOME AFTER 16 YRS

SHARJAH — A Bangladeshi woman and her two daughters have flown back home after 16 years as they availed of the amnesty scheme from Sharjah. The woman had been living in the UAE for close to two decades and neither of her children ever went to school because they had no documents.

sharjah — The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Sharjah helped a 55-year-old woman from Bangladesh and her two daughters, aged 15 and 16, to modify their status and live legally in the UAE.

The woman has been living in the UAE for nearly two decades and none of the family members has passports or IDs — the reason why the girls never went to school.

Colonel Hazeem bin Falah Al Suwaidi, director of the department of entry and residence permits at the GDRFA in Sharjah, told Khaleej Times that the mother approached the department to solve their problem. The woman told the officer that she does not know the whereabouts of her husband who had left her. The woman has a sister who married a UAE national. The helpless trio are supported by her sister.

She could not approach the authorities concerned with her problem as she did not have money to pay the mounting fines.

The GDRFA is taking necessary steps to help the mother and her daughters modify their illegal status as part of the amnesty scheme. “The amnesty will change the life of my daughters and help them achieve their goals. We can now live without fear,” she said.