Distressed family in Hamad Town pleads for assistance

A widowed Bahraini woman is pleading for aid before the house left for her by her late husband that crumbles down on her, her son and five daughters.

These have been the situations endured by Bahraini Um Abdulla and her family for the past five years. She claimed that she had been seeking assistance from the authorities and her area’s representatives, but with no progress.

“We have been enduring this tough life for a while now, especially during rainy seasons. Situations worsened this year as parts of the ceiling fell down and I almost lost my life when I was electrocuted due to flooded house and the poor electricity connections in it,” Um Abdulla told DT News yesterday, explaining why she chose to break out of her silence and seek help from the public.

She said that the family’s conditions deteriorated tragically following the demise of her husband before 13 years. “Since then, not a single maintenance work has been done to our house because of our bad financial situations,” she said, informing that the house is located near Roundabout 17 in Hamad Town and it’s all that was left for them by the late breadwinner.

Um Abdulla said they’re surviving on her late husband’s pension, which never crossed the BD350 barrier. 

According to her, they are barely managing to live through the month.

However, events took another turn when her son Abdulla, 34, started working and withdrew a loan from the bank (she did not recall the amount) to build an extension for him on the roof of the one-story house.

This didn’t last for long as Abdulla lost his job and ended up in huge debts for Eskan Bank, which provides housing finance.

“The bank indirectly hauled the house by keeping the property certificate of the house with them and refusing to show any form of cooperation or sympathy with us. They informed us recently that in order to return the house to us, we have to file charges against Abdulla. They even threatened that they will auction the house while we’re still in it,” she alleged.

The frustrated woman described their situation as “inhuman and unbearable.” She added that they’re in more distress now as the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) are demanding them to pay arrears of over BD5000.

Um Abdulla sadly informed that BD120 is monthly detected from her late husband’s pension by EWA, leaving them with less than BD250 to survive the month with.

“We’re not really begging for money from anyone. We’re only hoping that EWA or Eskan Bank would sympathise with our situations and drop or reduce the amounts we owe, as we have a very limited source of income to support a big family,” Um Abdulla added.

Unofficial Assistance from Representative

Speaking to DT News about the family’s situations yesterday was Northern Governorate Municipal Council Chairman and Municipal Representatives of the area Mohammed Buhumood.

He confirmed to DT News that he was informed recently about the family’s condition and contacted them. 

“But without the necessary documents (property certificate) we as councillors cannot help, as official procedures restrict us,” he informed.

He stated that “the Northern Municipal Council is allocated BD500, 000 for buildings maintenance and there are 1700 houses on the waiting list, which goes back to 2007.”

Anyhow, Buhumood said he has been communicating with charity societies and donors to solve the problem quick, considering that winter has just begun.

To reach Um Abdulla, please contact DT News by mailing us on news@dt.bh