Dubai: Emirati-Qatari joint families in the UAE have welcomed President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s instruction on Sunday to the authorities concerned to take into consideration their humanitarian circumstances.
After the news that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt have severed ties with Qatar and that Qatari nationals had 14 days to leave the country, many Emirati-Qatari joint families feared that this would mean their families would be fragmented. However, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, announced measures that take into account such humanitarian circumstances of citizens who have married Qatari nationals and they are allowed to stay with their families.
Jasem A., a 25-year-old working in Abu Dhabi, praised Shaikh Khalifa for his gesture saying that his family was relieved after the announcement on Sunday.
“We are really happy with the news as a family, and we thank the leadership for their compassion and for immediately addressing the issue we were facing,” Jasem, who also has an elder sister, told Gulf News.
“I was concerned about the fate of my mother. I was worried, confused and trying to not think about it for the past few days.
“This is my mother, I couldn’t imagine a day like this would come where she would have to pack her things and leave and I w1on’t be able to see her,” he said.
Jasem’s mother is divorced from his Emirati father but has lived and raised her children in the UAE, he explained, adding that this made the family more worried about how she would be directly affected by the decision.
“Deep inside I knew that it would become more clear if we waited. I personally know a lot of Emirati-Qatari joint families who live here and this is really good news to them,” he said.
Another Emirati national, M.Q, who is married to a Qatari woman, said that he wanted to thank the President for easing the obstacles Emirati-Qatari joint families are facing.
“Since the announcement that the UAE would be cutting ties with Qatar, and the issuance of the decision for the return of Emirati nationals from Qatar and for the Qatari nationals to leave the UAE, we were worried about our families. But, when the humanitarian decision came from Shaikh Khalifa, happiness and joy entered our hearts,” he said.
A.A.T, a Dubai-based Qatari man, who is married to an Emirati woman, also expressed his thanks to the President for his valuable humanitarian initiative to remove all obstacles for Emiratis and Qataris who are married to each other.
Speaking to Gulf News, his wife, S.A.A said: “The initiative started by Shaikh Khalifa, removed our fears [about being separated] and instilled a feeling of peace in our hearts. We would like to thank the UAE for this noble humanitarian gesture without political considerations,” she said.
Sources told Gulf News that a joint committee comprising of officials of the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation would study each family’s case individually and quickly and solve their problems.
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