Sri Lankan to go home to see her 3 kids

Always, I was eager to go home and see my children. But I was scared to approach anybody. And more than that, I was not earning much money to pay the fines. Now, I am very happy that I can go home after changing my status, without paying any money.”

sharjah — A Sri Lankan mother, who hasn’t gone home for the last six years, will be flying home to see he three children soon, thanks to the amnesty initiative.

Forty-year-old Balani Blackrichaz has been staying in the country illegally since she overstayed her visit visa in 2011. She was working as a domestic worker with an Arab family and then stayed with a number of compatriot women in an apartment.

“Always, I was eager to go home and see my children. But I was scared to approach anybody. And more than that, I was not earning much money to pay the fines. Now, I am very happy that I can go home after changing my status, without paying any money,” she said.

“I received my passport from the consulate, then went to Tasheel to clear my papers and purchased my ticket from the Air Arabia counter at the Sharjah amnesty centre.” Now, Blackrichaz will be flying home on Sunday.

She will be coming back to the UAE after visiting her children. “I was offered a job at a private school in Sharjah as a cleaner. So, I will go home to see my kids and come back before the schools are opened.”

She said that the learnt about the amnesty initiative through the media and read that the authorities helped solve problems of many people.

After knowing about the initiative, she went immediately to the immigration centre and Tasheel centre. The officials at the centre completed the transaction completely. “I managed to finish all the processes in three days despite the huge crowd at the centre. The amnesty scheme gives me an opportunity to return home without any fear and see my three children,” she said, adding that her youngest child is 12 years old.

Balani Blackrichaz, Sri Lankan mother