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Out on the street Wednesday 25 Mar, 2009
Uncertain future for desperate women as refuge faces closure due to lack of funds
Victims of human trafficking and domestic violence in Dubai could be forced back onto the streets when a shelter offering them sanctuary is forced to close by tomorrow. City of Hope, the emirate’s only independent women’s refuge, has been told to leave its villa base in Jumeirah because it cannot pay the dhs200,000 annual rent. Donations to the safe-haven began to dry up last year when its founder, Sharla Musabih, was the focus of a concerted smear campaign. Sharla, an American who married a UAE national, says she returned to the States in June because of the vendetta which she claims was run by disgruntled husbands and organised crime gangs angered by her attempts to tackle human trafficking.
She said: “We are in crisis. We don’t have the money to pay the rent and we have to leave the building. Nearly all the women at the shelter at the moment are victims of human trafficking into the country. “The women have nowhere else to go - they will be back on the streets across the Emirates.” City of Hope currently houses 12 women and four children. The refuge is racing against time to try to find them temporary accommodation with volunteers. One woman who is currently
staying there spoke to 7DAYS. She escaped the clutches of traffickers and arrived at the shelter ten months ago. “I don’t know where I will go now,” she said. “I like it here and it is safe. There are children here as well.“It has helped me so much, I am confused about what I will do right now.” City of Hope has fought an eight-year battle to keep the shelter open. Women’s rights activist Sharla claims she has even been subjected to death threats from the husbands of women who fled to the refuge to find safety.
She said: “There are some people who have made it very difficult for City of Hope - people became scared about giving us donations and that has had an impact on us. “We were very fortunate to have a donation from one woman that paid the last six months’ rent but that is up now.” Sharla has set up United Hope - the umbrella organisation that runs the Dubai shelter and a second refuge in Ethiopia. It has recently been licensed as an international Non Government Organisation (NGO) and can officially accept tax-deductable donations. But they have not come quickly enough to save the shelter. City of Hope is a lifeline for abuse victims, particularly those who are brought to the country by organised gangs to be sold into prostitution and forced labour.
According to the latest UAE figures, there was a 30 per cent drop last year in the number of people trafficked into the country compared to the previous year. But Sharla says many cases go unreported because the victims fear they will end up being arrested and put behind bars. “The victims are terrified they will be prosecuted and sent to jail which means they are terrified of saying anything to the authorities,” Sharla said.
nichola.jones@7days.ae
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