Schron Osula, a pregnant woman living in the streets of Dubai and looking for help to go back to her country.
Dubai: She is six months pregnant, sleeps in a Deira park and begs for a living — this is how 30-year-old Nigerian Schron Osula has been leading her life for the last five months.
Along with friends, Osula came to the UAE a year ago on a tourist visa in search of employment. She rented bed space for Dh200 a month in Deira’s Naif area. When they failed to secure jobs, her friends flew back to Nigeria, but Osula was left behind. She has lost her travel documents.
Her plight was brought to the notice of Gulf News by Nelson M. Pillai, a 63-year-old Indian, who found her sleeping on one of the wooden benches in the park, located near the Deira Fish roundabout.
When Gulf News approached Schron, she was reluctant to speak. She was afraid that we might be from the police. But her fingers relaxed their hold on the empty bottle of mineral water that she was holding and she breathed a sigh of relief when she was told that we were not there to arrest her but to know why she was sleeping rough.
When asked if she had considered approaching a police station for help, she answered: “No. I have my passport number but no passport. I don’t know what to do. I am scared. What will happen when the baby comes? I just want to go home,”
“I ran out of money. During the day, I sleep on a bench in the park and as night falls I go about searching for some covered areas in residential buildings and shopping complexes in Naif, Fish Roundabout and around Baniyas Square,”she said speaking in English.
There was a slight tremble in her voice and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She looked frail and exhausted and opted to sit down on one of the park benches while she spoke to us. Placing one hand gently on her tummy she said: “I regret this pregnancy. I should not have done it. The man responsible for this baby is also Nigerian and one day he just disappeared. I thought we both could start a life together over here but I was wrong. He had other plans. I am very afraid.”
Wiping a tear from her cheek, she looked around the small park. Most of the benches were occupied by men. “These men do not bother me. I am sure they are wondering what I am doing over here,” she said nervously. Then, pointing to her painted nails, she said: “You see, I like painting my nails. At times I spend money to buy a bottle of nail polish. Today I had some Nigerian food from a cafeteria. Some Nigerians were kind enough to share their food with me.
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