6-year-old Filipina abandoned in UAE
A six-year-old girl abandoned by her alleged Filipina mother in the United Arab Emirates is hoping to do activities that befit children her age, including going to school, Gulf News reported.
However, she is unable to do so because there is no record of her birth. The girl, Fathima, does not have a surname, a passport, Emirates ID, or visa. She also has no proof that she is a Filipino citizen.
Fathima was reportedly left behind by her mother in Dubai to a Pakistani couple when she was only one year old. The couple cared for her until they fell on hard times.
She was then adopted by Pakistani Syed Ali Moazzam, who has coordinated with the Philippine Embassy.
Moazzam needs information about Fathima's real mother, who he claims is still in the UAE but is denying giving birth to the girl.
"If no one else wants this child I am ready to adopt her and will send her to school and do all that, that’s why I am trying to get documents and that’s why I contacted the newspaper," the report quoted Moazzam as saying.
Moazzam was referred by the Ajman Police to the Philippine Embassy, which then asked for proof that the child is a Filipino.
Philippines Consul General Paul Raymond Cortes was quoted as saying in the report saying, "We need to prove blood relation in order to ascertain that she is really Filipino, but how can we do that without the mother or the father? Police and public prosecution need to DNA the child."
The Ajman Police assured the mother that she will not be arrested if she gives a DNA sample. —Bernadette Parco/KBK, GMA News