Bollywood-style reunion in Dubai: Uzbek mum meets Indian son she left after birth

March 6, 2013

Bollywood-style_reunion_in_Dubai

Dubai, Mar 6: Dubai’s police described it as a plot similar to an Indian movie. The main characters are an Indian father, an Uzbek mother and their son but the setting was thousands of miles from India, taking place in Dubai and Kenya.

The ending also has a stark resemblance of that in a film but it was still not clear whether it is a happy or sad end. Perhaps the readers have to judge.

Starting from the end, an Uzbek woman who married an Indian businessman and travelled with him to Kenya in1993 was deprived of her son just three months after he was born. After a weary search saga, she reunited with him in Dubai this week with the help of Interpol and Dubai’s police but the adult son appeared not very impressed.

The story began when the Indian man travelled to Uzbekistan to pick a pretty wife in early 1990s. After a brief search, he found his target—a beautiful 17-year-old woman, who he quickly married and travelled with her to Kenya where he had business.

After they had their first son and named him Saeed, rifts erupted when she decided to add the boy to her passport. A few weeks later, the furious husband decided to get rid of her by telling her they were all going back to India.

At the airport, they boarded a flight but the man took his son and told his wife to wait in the aircraft as he forgot something at the airport. When he did not come back the pilot announced an imminent take off, she panicked, screamed and went into a hysterical fit, prompting the cabin crew to take her out of the plane.

After a while, she realised that she had been deceived by her husband and believed he took her son and travelled back to his home town of Mumbay.

Although she realised that she had lost her son, she did not give up and began a long but futile search journey. Yet she did not quit her endeavours and many years later, she decided to resort to Interpol, who located her son’s whereabouts in Dubai.

After frenzied contacts through Facebook and other social networks, she was told by a girl that she knows her son and that he studies at a university in Dubai. But she got her first shock when she contacted him and was told to leave him alone. He even threatened her against contacting his friends again.

The mother, now 37, decided then to travel to the UAE, where she stayed with a friend in Ras Al Khaimah. She then contacted the Human Rights Department in Dubai, which managed to reunite her with her son after extensive contacts.

It was like a fiction story similar to that in an Indian film,” said Colonel Mohammed Al Murr, the Department’s director. “We decided to help this woman because she looked a respected person and she would never stop crying. The first meeting with her son was difficult and extremely emotional. It was a story that moved everyone.”

The Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum said the meeting was arranged by Lt Colonel Khaled Lootah, director of the woman and child protection department.

“It was a very dramatic meeting…when the mother went into the room and saw her son, she lost her balance and was about to faint. She then went into a weeping fit because was so happy, but her son appeared apathetic and said he was angry that she emerged in his life. She tried her best to explain that she is his biological mother but he still refused to accept that fact and looked as if he had an internal conflict,” Lootah said.

“The boy then said his father told him that his mother sold him for $6 million in Nairobi (Kenya) in return for shares in a nightclub. He said that his real mother is the woman who brought him up in India and looked after him when he was a child.”

Emirat Alyoum quoted Lootah as saying they arranged another meeting between the mother and the son and that they tried to convince the son to treat the woman as a real mother. “The boy then asked for time so he can absorb the situation. The second meeting ended in a very warm hugging by the mother of her son.”

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News Network
June 23,2020

Riyadh, Jun 23: Authorities in Saudi Arabia have decided to allow a limited number of citizens and residents who are already in the Kingdom to do this year’s Haj.

In a statement on Monday, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah said that in light of the continuation of the coronavirus pandemic and the risks of infections spreading in crowded spaces and large gatherings, it has been decided that Haj for this year (1441 H/ 2020 AD) will be held whereby a very limited number of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia, would be able to perform it.

“The decision was taken to ensure Haj is performed in a safe manner from a public health perspective while observing all preventative measures and the necessary social distancing protocols to protect human beings from the risks associated with this pandemic and in accordance with the teachings of Islam in preserving the lives of human beings, the statement added.

“The government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is honored to serve millions of Haj and Umrah pilgrims annually and it confirms that this decision stems from the top priority it accords maintaining the safety of pilgrims on its land until they depart to their home countries.”

“We ask Allah the Almighty to protect all countries from this pandemic and keep all humans protected and safe, the statement said.

Saudi Arabia’s top priority is to always enable Muslim pilgrims to perform Haj and Umrah rites safely and securely and the Kingdom has been keen since the beginning of the pandemic to take all necessary precautionary measures to protect pilgrims, including by suspending the entry of Umrah pilgrims while ensuring the safety of the pilgrims already present at the holy sites, the statement further added.

Commenting on the Haj decision, the Saudi Human Rights Commission said that Saudi Arabia believes in the universal right to health. Limiting Haj not only protects the Kingdom but also many pilgrims and the communities they call home around the world.

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Arab News
March 9,2020

Dubai, Mar 9: The eyes of the world will be on the oil markets when the big trading hubs in Europe and North America open following the end of the deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has helped to sustain crude at relatively high levels for the past three years.

There were big falls on Friday when ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to get a deal with non-OPEC members — the so-called OPEC+ — to extend output agreements. Brent oil was down nearly 10 percent at $45.27 going into the western weekend.

Saudi Aramco took immediate action to cut prices after the OPEC+ collapse, offering big discounts for crude deliveries from next month, when the current output restrictions end.

According to a notification sent to customers by Saudi Aramco, seen by Arab News, the Kingdom’s oil giant will cut between $4 and $8 per barrel, with the biggest discounts being offered to buyers in northwest Europe and the US.

Roger Diwan, an oil analyst at consultancy IHS Market, said: “We are likely to see the lowest oil prices of the past 20 years in the next quarter.”

West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, fell to $28.27 in November 2001.

The move raises the possibility of a “crude war” between the three biggest oil blocs — the US, Russia and the Arabian Gulf. Some analysts believe the American shale industry is more vulnerable to low prices than either the Russians or the Saudis.

Robin Mills, head of the Qamar consultancy, told Arab News: “I don’t think this was premeditated but Saudi Arabia has clearly swung quickly into action to put the Russians under pressure. But the Russians, with low debt and a flexible exchange rate, can cope with a few months of low prices.”

The boom in US shale has made the country the biggest oil producer in the world, but with high financing costs. Lower global prices would put a lot of shale companies out of business.

On the other hand, American motorists, and President Donald Trump, would be pleased to see lower fuel prices in an election year.

In Moscow, one prominent financier with ties to the Kingdom played down the long-term significance of the Vienna fallout.

Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia is our strategic partner, and cooperation between our two countries will continue in all areas. We will also continue to work within the framework of the Russia-Saudi Economic Council.”

One Russian official, who asked not to be named, added: “There is a good relationship between Alexander Novak, Russian energy minister, and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, and I am sure they will continue talking to each other less formally.”

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News Network
January 6,2020

Riyadh, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions.

Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to possible Iranian reprisals after Tehran vowed "revenge" following the strike on Friday that killed powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not consulted regarding the US strike," a Saudi official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"In light of the rapid developments, the kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint to guard against all acts that may lead to escalation, with severe consequences," the official added.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry made a similar call for restraint at the weekend and King Salman emphasised the need for measures to defuse tensions in a phone call on Saturday with Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

In a separate phone call with Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed "the need to make efforts to calm the situation and de-escalate tensions", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The crown prince has instructed Prince Khalid bin Salman, his younger brother and deputy defence minister, to travel to Washington and London in the next few days to urge restraint, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

Prince Khalid will meet White House and US defence officials, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

The killing of Soleimani, seen as the second most powerful man in Iran, is the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Washington and Tehran and has prompted fears of a major conflagration in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump, who ordered the drone strike, has warned that Washington will hit Iran "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.

The American embassy in Riyadh on Sunday warned its citizens living close to military bases and oil and gas installations in the kingdom of a "heightened risk of missile and drone attacks".

A string of attacks blamed on Iran has caused anxiety in recent months, as Riyadh and Washington deliberated over how to react.

In particular, devastating strikes against Saudi oil installations last September led Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to adopt a more conciliatory approach aimed at avoiding confrontation with Tehran.

Analysts warn that pro-Iran groups have the capacity to carry out attacks on US bases in Gulf states as well as against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz -- the strategic waterway that Tehran could close at will.

"Expect Iranian reprisals (directly or through partner groups in Iraq, Lebanon or elsewhere) to target US partners in the region including Saudi Arabia," said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

"Given the climate in the US, where support for Saudi in the media and Congress is at an all time low, it will be difficult for Trump to commit significant resources to come to its aid."

Yemen's pro-Iran Huthi rebels, locked in a five-year conflict with a Saudi-led military coalition, have also called for swift reprisals for Soleimani's killing.

"The aggression... will not go without a response," said Huthi political council member Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti.

"How the response is going to be, when and where will be determined by Iraq and Iran, and we will stand with them as a hub for the resistance."

It was unclear if the Huthi warning was directed in part at Saudi Arabia, which has stepped up efforts to end Yemen's conflict amid a lull in Huthi attacks on the kingdom.

Saudi Arabian military commanders recently met with counterparts from "friendly countries" to formulate a new strategy to tackle the Yemeni rebels, particularly those "opposing" a political solution, according to Asharq al-Awsat.

Riyadh has said it will host a separate meeting of foreign ministers of Arab and African coastal states on Monday.

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