4 Palestinian kids stranded at airport return to UAE after viral appeal to President

When a Palestinian father living in the UAE sent his four children to Jordan, he expected them to start a new life. Instead, they spent four months stranded at an airport. This continued until a tearful video appeal reached the office of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

When Eid Suleiman Al Abbasi's children landed at the airport, they faced a bureaucratic nightmare. "I decided to send my children to Jordan to start a new life there,” Al Abbasi explained in an interview with Akhbar Al Emarat.

“We were surprised to find they could not enter Jordan because we had not completed the necessary entry procedures. Consequently, I couldn’t bring them back to the UAE either, as I had already cancelled their visas," he added.

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According to one of the daughters, “They kept us in the airport for 14 or 16 days, then they booked us into an airport hotel for two and a half months, and then moved us back to the airport. Our lives just stopped,” she said.

Desperate and out of options, the children recorded a heartfelt video appeal that quickly went viral on social media and eventually reached the office of the UAE President.

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In the video, a young girl lovingly addressed the President as Baba (Father). “Baba Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, we are your four children, currently at Queen Alia Airport for four months. We were born in the UAE, and we have no homeland other than it, Baba. We are your four children, help us.”

The UAE leadership responded swiftly. Al Abbasi detailed how quickly things moved after the video was posted. “We sent the appeal in the evening, and at around 1.30am the next day, I received a call with a few questions. Two hours later, they asked a few more questions. Then by sunset, they said, ‘Inshallah, within one hour you can book their return flights’.”

When the father voiced worries about booking flights without having processed their residency visas, the response he received reflected the UAE’s humanitarian ethos.

“He (the official) told me our children do not wait at the airport for visas. Bring them back first, then proceed with the visa procedures,” Al Abbasi recalled.

For the Al Abbasi family, this is not the first time Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has stepped in to help them during a crisis. The father revealed a deeply personal history of the President’s generosity towards his family.

“In 2007, Sheikh Mohamed saved my late father. He was treated at the President’s expense even though his residency had expired. His private office covered it,” Al Abbasi shared.

He added, “In 2012, he was treated again at his personal expense. Now he has brought his grandchildren back to the country. Sheikh Mohamed is our father, our leader, and our Sheikh.”

The safe return of the children has brought immense relief and joy to the family. Speaking to Emirates News, the young girl who made the viral appeal expressed her profound gratitude. “Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed is the one who saved us. I thank him for reuniting us with Baba, and I love him very much,” she said.

This story serves as another testament to the UAE leadership’s unwavering commitment to the welfare of its residents, proving once again that in the Emirates, humanitarian values always take precedence over bureaucratic hurdles.