Letter From Ahmed Elsir
My name is Ahmed Elsir Hassan Humida. A Sudanese national who been born and raised in the United Arab Emirates, and lived there till my mid late twenties. My family been residing and living in U.A.E for more than thirty years.
I use to visit them regularly from Malaysia where I use to study my college. In my last visit late 2008, my father went through some financial hurdles and he couldn’t send me back to complete my studies, which eventually resulted in me overstaying my three month visit visa by nearly a month and some days.
I was planning to settle my overstaying fines and leave the country as soon as I get the required funds to do so. The problem I was caught by the CID in Abu Dhabi and was asked about my documents, which I directly handed over to the officer. To note the officer was in complete professionalism and was kind I was treated well. I was transferred to al Shabiya Police station on al Nagda street, and on the next day to al Sadar deportation jail.
I stayed there for nearly twenty two days. My father was still in the mid of his financial problems and he couldn’t do anything to help. Throughout my stay I was never mistreated ,on the contrary ,I was treated as if I’m a local and I really hope one day I can thank those great officials. I was deported after that. One of my closest friends arranged my airline ticket. I was eye scanned and deported to Sudan.
My family regrouped in Abu Dhabi and the financial problems vanished. They thought the eye scan was incorporated with a 6 month or a one year ban. To their surprise, when they went to check on the status after a year passed, they found out it’s a life ban. To note I don’t have any criminal records, inside the U.A.E or outside. I was really struck by the fact that I’m being treated just like the people who committed serious criminal crimes, or constitute a threat to the U.A.E national security and are banned from entry to the country again.
My family started to request assistance to find solutions to the problem and was advised to write an appeal letter to the office of the Interior minister demanding the up lift of the life ban. An appeal was filed and after nearly sixteen month of waiting for a reply. My mother received a message instructing her to follow up my file in the Immigration and Naturalization Department (Abu Dhabi).She went happily there, and to note she is a senior residence with an age of fifty eight. She was then transferred to the Federal Immigration and Naturalization Department. She was met there by a helping friendly official who reviewed the case and file and interviewed her further on the reasons behind my overstaying. He then collected all the necessary signatures from the respected officials except from the director as far as I know. The director or high official was out of the country at the time, so he kindly asked her to follow up the next week. A week went by and she came back with high expectations. She was surprised by the news that the high official refused to sign on the papers of all the appeals, mine as well as the others too.
The official asked her to come back in a week to find a time gap where she can go meet him and further request his reconsideration of my case. She went again there the following three weeks.
Every time she goes there she was postponed from meeting with the official due to his full schedule and other un-conventional reasons. Finally when she got a chance to meet him briefly while he was going out of office, he kept saying to her just wait. From then not a sign of hope or progress was coming from the status of the appeal.
When you look at a person life and history. You ask yourself where is he born , where is his hometown. Reading this letter from the start shows you how a human can just be degraded from being in his home with his family, to simply being nearly stateless given the fact that I’m detached from Sudan. Separation is another thing. I can’t visit or support my family, nor can I help them. I wonder if that high official think of all of this, when his looking through my file. As I mentioned I’m clear of any criminal affiliation or criminal history. Is it normal for a professional to just treat these cases in this way with complete ignorance? Is this the human right standard that U.A.E calls for and defends?
When they are attempted with such questions they always reply to us with the usual chants. This is not your country, get lost go back to your country if you don’t like the laws and so on. Off course we are just cheap labor (slaves) in their eyes. We been bombarded with these sentences since we were young living in Abu Dhabi. Some of them say these are the laws of land and you are obliged to it. I would like to examine that.
I would really like to find assistance regarding this case .I’ve tried contacting your sister refuge organization (UNHCR).I don’t think their legal mandate recognize me as stateless person. I just want a dignified life and a chance to go back see my family or at least live in a place that respects human rights.
Please do feel free to send me back your thoughts or anything that may help me with this problem.
My at most thanks and best of regards and wishes.
Yours Truly,
Ahmed Elsir Hassan
