Body Waits in Dubai Morgue as Family Struggles to Raise Money
VM Sathish/Dubai
The embassy in Abu Dhabi is now working with Ugandan community leaders to raise the money.
A young transit passenger on her way to her home country, Uganada, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, died while in transit at the Dubai International Airport.
The body Zaina Nagani has been at the hospital morgue for almost three weeks as her family does not have the funds for repatriation.
Earlier, the woman had been admitted at Al Ansar General Hospital, Madina, for four weeks for a heart problem and discharged.
Ismail Kikomeko, chairman of the Ugandan community in the UAE, told Khaleej Times that the 23-year-old had been sick and was supposed to be travelling on a wheelchair with oxygen support.
Her Saudi employer, however, provided her a ticket on a budget airline which did not have the facility for oxygen support.
“She came by Flydubai flight from Saudi Arabia on October 6 and was off-loaded in Dubai because she was too sick to travel. She was admitted to Dubai Hospital and she died there on October 27,” said Ismail.
According to a medical report issued by the Ministry of Health, Nagani died due to cardio-pulmonary arrest. The community is now seeking $3,500 to repatriate the body.
What the law says
According to legal expert Ashish Mehta, there is no specific law for cases such as these in the UAE.
With regards to this case, when someone dies while transiting through any emirate, there are three possibilities of repatriation.
Firstly, the family of the deceased will be informed and called up on to get clearances from the local authorities to repatriate the body out of UAE. The family will bear the cost of repatriation.
If there is no one in the family, the consulate or embassy concerned will be approached to take care of the repatriation cost and procedure.
Lastly, there are donors, individuals and NGOs in the UAE who help out in such cases.ankita@khaleejtimes.com
“She worked as a domestic help for a Saudi Arabian family in Madina for one year. She was discharged from the hospital and was flying home alone,” Ismail said. Though he has been authorised by the family as the nearest of kin to take care of the repatriation, he has not been able to trace the Saudi employer, said Ismail. The Ugandan embassy in Saudi Arabia also has not been able to trace him.
“Some community members have posted her story on social media and I got in touch with them. Now we need money for embalming the body, air ticket for transporting the body to her home and other expenses. There is no hospital bill pending, but money is needed to repatriate her body,” Ismail added.
A report from Dubai Hospital said, Zaina Nagani who died in the hospital on October 27 was brought to the emergency department, from Dubai Airport on October 7 at 1.30am.
After death, the hospital contacted the Ugandan embassy.
The embassy in Abu Dhabi is now working with Ugandan community leaders to raise the money.
(Source: KhaleejTimes.com)