Family pleads for help to get legal status in Bahrain

Manama : A Pakistani family is seeking help to stay legally in the Kingdom as they have been residing in Bahrain without a valid visa for more than 20 years. 

Shaukat, (Name changed) first came to the Kingdom in 1971 followed by his wife in 1986. Shaukat had a valid visa until 1998 but after that, he has been staying illegally without a visa for almost 19 years now. 

“I used to live along with my father, mother, wife and four kids. My wife passed away a couple of years ago. While she complained of being ill we took her to the hospital and the doctors told us that she had pus filled boils on her lungs, they kept treating her but her health kept getting worse. Eventually, the doctor referred her to the oncology department, where it was discovered that she was at her last stage of lung cancer,” Shaukat told DT News.

“Following my wife’s death, one of my daughters met a similar fate and died of brain tumour at the age of 22. Initially, she kept complaining of headache and nausea. When she failed to respond to medicines, the doctors referred her to a CT scan centre where it was discovered that she had a brain tumour. The doctors tried to treat her but the tumour increased and I lost my daughter too.” 

 “I now live with my father, two daughters and son. The only person with a valid visa is my 30-year-old son as he is the only one working and his company has provided him permits.” 

“I am unable to work anywhere because I don’t have a valid visa and the only way we are surviving is through our son and he also doesn’t earn enough. We are really helpless and miserable and we don’t know where to go for help as the embassy of Pakistan keeps stalling us for years and keeps telling us to come next time,” Shaukat added. 

“I and my siblings have been living illegally in the country since our birth. We don’t even have CPR. When we were born, CPRs were not so important. So for me, it has been 26 years without a legal visa and a CPR,” one of Shaukat’s daughter said.

“My other sister’s both legs are fractured and she needs an operation. One of her legs were operated with the help of the Embassy of Pakistan but her other leg has to be operated,” she added.

“We did reach Pakistan embassy for help to get us out of this situation but they have been stalling us and it’s been years now that I and my sister are without a CPR and my father and grandfather with expired CPR and passport,” the daughter said.