Mohammed wants to spend last days at home with family
All Mohammed Miaa wants is to die peacefully in Bangladesh with his wife and children at his side.
Instead, the 60-year-old heart surgery survivor must stay in Dubai until he pays off the Dh38,000 he owes the hospital that treated him.
The first sign of trouble for the office assistant and father of two was when he lost his hearing in May, then collapsed at work.
“I suddenly couldn’t hear anything and my head felt like it was going round and round,” he says.
He blacked out and went into a coma.
“I don’t know what happened. I woke up to find myself in the hospital.
“The doctor told me that I was out for three days and a vein in my heart had burst.”
He partially recovered from the operation but remains very ill and cannot return to work.
Mr Miaa is trapped in a legal limbo.
His visa has expired, meaning he is no longer a legal resident, and the hospital has kept his passport until he pays his bill.
He has no home and relies on handouts for food.
“I love this country but I can’t work anymore,” he says. “My time is finished and I feel like I will die soon. I want to die in Bangladesh with my wife and children.
“How can I pay them back? I have no money and I am unemployed. All I want is to get my passport so I can die at home.
“I have nothing. My friends buy me food and allow me to stay at their place because I told them I would leave soon.
“They are worried that I will die in the streets in this heat and with no food.”
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber Society, is promoting his case in the hope members of the public or a generous benefactor will help to pay Mr Miaa’s medical bill.
“The hospital is asking for Dh38,000 to release his passport,” Mr Al Zahrani said.
“Unless Mr Miaa pays this amount, he will remain trapped in the UAE – homeless, unemployed and very ill.”