An American Woman in Dubai Fights for Abused Women

Father claims his daughter was sexually abused in shelter

Dubai: Police are investigating the claims of a father who has alleged that his five-year-old daughter was sexually abused at a shelter.

The father, an Indian, said his daughter Victoria had not yet celebrated her fifth birthday when she was kidnapped by his wife and forced to stay at the City of Hope, a shelter run by Sharla Musabih.

He has claimed Victoria was molested by a number of women and two teenagers at the shelter.

The father told Gulf News that three Ethiopian women, called Yashi, Hakima and Zanoba, a Sudanese woman identified as Awatif and a Russian woman identified as Victoria, who is a mother of two children, used to beat, assault and sexually harass his daughter.

"Two teenagers, called John and Mike, sexually abused my daughter with the help of these women. The teenagers lived in a compound adjacent to Musabih's shelter," he said.

According to the father Victoria was examined by a gynaecologist who said she had been molested. The doctor asked the father to report the matter to police and to take her to a government hospital. The father said three private clinics said she was suffering from a fungal infection in her vagina.

The father said his lawyer, Badr Abdullah Hussain, reported the case to Bur Dubai Police station on April 16.

Victoria told police that the first time they molested her was at night when she was watching TV alone. The two teenagers went upstairs and carried her downstairs.

Victoria said she was very frightened. She said they took her near the Russian woman's room, where the other women were.

Victoria told police that they took off her clothes and she started screaming and crying. The boys were slapping and hitting her stomach and they sexually molested her.

After that Yashi took her naked upstairs to her mother's room. Victoria told police that she was molested several times by the same people in different places as they used to take her to nearby villas.

Victoria told police that they used to tape her mouth or fill it with paper, or silence her with their hands. The father said his wife, identified as Evona, had kidnapped his daughter from school after a family dispute with the aid of Musabih and a helper called Suzan. The child stayed at the City of Hope for 55 days.

"I tried desperately to see my daughter but Musabih never allowed me. She threatened me with the police. I got help from the Women and Children Welfare Organisation in Goa. The presidents of the organisation, Auda Veigas and Martha Mascarenscas, helped us to see Victoria after contacting the commissioner for NRIs. The commissioner sent a letter to the Indian Consulate and to the human rights section at Bur Dubai police station to help me rescue my daughter."

'Dirty condition'

He said Veigas and Mascarenscas went to City of Hope and were shocked over the "disgusting" condition of the shelter, which they described as unhygienic and dirty.

Veigas said the child seemed to have been subjected to sexual abuse and needed to be rescued.

"I stayed with Victoria in the shelter for three hours. She was tired and wanted to go home. The condition of the shelter was appalling.

Veigas said Victoria was very ill and was suffering from fever. We begged Musabih to let us take Victoria to a clinic. The father was able to take his daughter home with him.

Collectng evidence

Dubai Police have confirmed that a case of molestation has been registered and they are investigating the matter.

Lt Colonel Saleh Ali Humaid Obaid, director of Bur Dubai Police station, said the family reported the case to the police. "We are investigating the case of sexual molestation. We are collecting evidence and the case will be transferred to the Public Prosecutor when we finish our investigations," Lt Col Obaid said.

Gulf News tried to contact Sharla Musabih, but was told she had left for the US. Police said that they wanted to question Musabih as an Iranian woman had also filed a complaint against her, but they could not contact her because she had left.

Three women accuse owner of the City of Hope of selling their babies

Dubai: Three young women of different nationalities are accusing the owner of the City of Hope shelter, Sharla Musabih, of selling their new-born babies to families in the UAE.

The women claim they were forced to give up their babies without compensation.

Irina Guseynova, a 25-year-old Russian woman, arrived in the UAE through Sharjah airport on June 3, 2003, on a tourist visa.

She is currently being detained at Dubai Central Jail for staying illegally in the country after being arrested in Abu Dhabi. She told Gulf News that she came here when she was only 20 with another Russian woman, to work as a prostitute

"The moment I landed at the airport my boss seized my passport. I worked as a prostitute for a year just to pay back my boss the cost of bringing me here, and then I started to work on my own," Irina said. "Later I met an Emirati man from Fujairah. He told me we were married in the Muslim way, and I believed him," she said.

She added when she was six months pregnant the man ran away, leaving her with no money, no food and expecting a child.

"An Uzbekistani human rights activist took me to Sharla. I stayed in her villa in Jumeirah from August 19, 2005 until November 9 when I gave birth to my baby boy at Al Oasis Hospital in Al Ain," she said.

Irina claimed Musabih promised to help her get her passport back and help her with a ticket home, but she did not do it.

"The day I went to Sharla an American woman married to an Emirati, identified as Linda, took me to Fujairah Hospital for a health check-up," she said.

Irina said during her stay Sharlah tried to convince her to give her baby to Linda, because Linda had no children and in return Irina would be given a ticket home.

"Sharlah threatened to pass my info on to the the police if I refused to give them my baby," she said. "On the day of the delivery an Ethiopian woman, identified as Zahra, took me to Al Ain and at 11pm on February 9, 2005, I gave birth to my baby boy, whom I have never seen," she said.

"I was not allowed to touch or to look at my baby. When we went back to Dubai from Al Ain the next day, Zahra held my baby in her arms and at Sharla's villa the baby was kept away from me in a hall. I tried to enter the hall to see the baby but Sharla did not allow me," she said.

Irina added she was scared and decided to escape that same day at midnight.

"After some time, while I was in Abu Dhabi staying with friends, I received a phone call on my mobile from Linda who asked me to go for a full medical check-up, but I did not go. A few days later Linda contacted me again, but I said I had no money."

"Linda was outraged and said she had paid Sharla a huge amount of money in return for my baby," Irina said.

Irina said she never received a single dirham from Sharla or from any one else in return for her baby.

"I wanted to inform the police about Sharla, and that she had sold my baby without my knowledge. I was not able to do so because I am an illegal resident and I worked as a prostitute, but now I am not afraid. I will report the issue to the police," Irina said.

Another woman, Narjis, 26, an Uzbekistani from Tashkent, entered the UAE on a tourist visa in 2003. She worked as a prostitute for a compatriot woman identified as Samira.

"Samira was my boss. She seized my passport the moment I landed here. I worked with her for three years. In 2006 I became pregnant and Samira, who is a good friend of Sharla, took me to the house in Jumeirah until delivery."

"My deal with Sharla and Samira was to give them the baby in return for my passport and for letting me work on my own," Narjis said.

She said in January 2006, while she was at Sharla's villa, she felt birth-pangs. "A number of women who used to work with Sharla took me to a nearby villa, because there was no time to take me to hospital. I gave birth to my baby girl at that villa. Samira and Sharla then handed me my passport and asked me to leave, which I did," Narjis said.

Narjis said she has been staying here illegally since 2003 and wanted to go back to her country. "I need help to go back to my country," she said.

The third woman, from the Philippines, refused to reveal her real name. She said she had given birth to her baby boy in 2005, with the aid of Sharla, who sold her baby to an American woman of Mexican origin identified as Layla. The woman is a mother of five children and married to a Saudi man. They live in Dubai.

Gulf News tried several times to contact Musabih but with no reply.

Earlier Musabih had told Gulf News she never had any pregnant woman in her shelter. She said her shelter supports abused woman.

Legislation: UAE's policy is clear

Commenting on the accusations against the owner of the City of Hope, Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Head of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT), told Gulf News the UAE government is keen to fight international human trafficking and cases of selling children are like human trafficking.

Dr Gargash, who is also the Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs, said: "Over the past few years we have formulated a clear policy that forms the basis of our approach against human trafficking. The policy is based on Law No.5 of 2006 to fight human trafficking. This law to combat human trafficking is the first of its kind in the Arab World."

Dr Gargash said the UAE has progressed substantially over the past months through the creation of the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, and also the Women and Children Shelter in Abu Dhabi.