Memories of dead friends never leave us, say survivors of fire in Dubai
▶ For some, the trauma and emotional scars of April 15 have followed them as they returned home to Africa
Survivors of a fire that killed 16 people and injured nine in a Dubai apartment building say they suffer trauma and recurring nightmares.
Eight months after the blaze engulfed the five-storey block in Deira, the residents who leapt from balconies to safety said stress and anxiety are ever present.
Many are now trying to rebuild their lives in Dubai, while others have turned their backs on the city.
Authorities said the April 15 fire was caused by non-compliance with safety standards and inadequate fire protection.
Yemdzu Doris Claire, from Cameroon, has not returned to the building since her housemate was killed.
“I’m still traumatised. I cannot stand the smell of smoke, and some days all I can do is cry,” she said.
Ms Claire, 28, suffered burns as she gripped an electricity cable while jumping to escape choking smoke that filled her home.
Along with five other flatmates, who heard warning shouts, she lowered herself to the ground floor.
Nicoline Abinkeng, their friend from Cameroon, fell to her death while trying to escape.
“As soon as I see smoke, I get scared even now and I feel the fire is coming,” Ms Claire told The National.
“I lost everything and I lost my friend. One day, I passed near the building by accident and I started crying.
“It is a very bad memory, I have never gone back.”
Ms Claire lives with her brother in Dubai and has tried to rebuild her life after the fire.
She lost her job as a cashier in a restaurant and now has two part-time jobs, one as a cleaner and another as a hotel receptionist.
Other survivors, including her friends from Nigeria, Liberia and Togo, have returned to Africa after they lost all their belongings in the fire.
They worked shifts in the hotel and travel industry, lived in shared accommodation with eight or 10 others and could not find somewhere to live.
“Most of my friends went back home,” Ms Claire said. “If the fire had not happened, maybe we would have found better jobs.”
She has also struggled to find somewhere to live as her salary cannot meet the cost of accommodation.
“I can’t forget the day the guy shouted, ‘Jump, fire’. I wish that day never came,” she said.
“I pray God gives me an opportunity to get a job as a receptionist or cashier next year.”
Tchafa Louis, 24, is among those who returned to his home in Cameroon.
He shared a flat with 11 other people and often relives the memory of witnessing Ms Abinkeng’s death.
“I could not sleep for months,” he said.
“She died in front of me, and it was very difficult to forget that day. I try not to think about the fire.”
Mr Louis lived in Dubai for two years and worked as a parttime cleaner.
He lost all his belongings in the fire, which meant he struggled to pay for food and find affordable housing as he began to rebuild his life.
“I tried to manage, but it’s very hard without a proper salary,” he said.
“I stayed with a friend but had to depend on him for money to eat.”
It was then he decided it was better to return home to Cameroon, adding that most of his friends did the same.
He hopes to find a steady job and return to the UAE.
“I will come back to Dubai only when I get a proper job,” he said.
Several families returned to their flats in the building several months after the fire and tried to put the terrifying memories behind them.
However, they said that anxiety and fear still haunts them.
“I cannot unsee that day, the smoke and how it was difficult to breathe,” said an Indian man.
“We were able to run away because we are on a lower floor but I lost two friends.
“My children still get nightmares. As soon as the rent contract is over, we will leave. It is not easy to stay here. There are too many sad memories from the fire.”
The sense of sorrow is felt by Salinga Gudu, whose younger brother Gudu Saliyakoondu, a watchman, died while saving residents who were trapped inside the building. “My heart is very sad,” said Mr Gudu, who cares for his brother’s three children in Tamil Nadu state.
“I feel very low when I think of his children.
“I constantly think of him, he was my friend, my brother. There is no life without him.”