ABU DHABI // About 100 Indians have committed suicide in the UAE each year since 2011, the country’s ambassador says.
T P Seetharam has called on the Indian expatriate community in the country to pull together and help people in distress, particularly those with financial problems.
Mr Seetharam said there were about 1,300 deaths recorded within the Indian community each year, but the number of people who took their own lives because of spiralling debt was not available.
His call for support and financial prudence comes after police found the bodies of the Kumar family in their Dubai home on July 15.
Officers broke into the Al Nahda apartment acting on a relative’s complaint about the missing family.
Police say film producer Santosh Kumar suffocated his daughter, aged 9, with a pillow, then he and his wife slit their wrists.
“There are roughly a 100 cases of suicide out of 1,300 deaths in a year within the community of 2.5 million people,” Mr Seetharam said.
“Over the last two to three years, the number has varied from 98 to 101 or 102 cases of suicide.
“We cannot relate every case to debt, although debt is a prevalent problem. It’s not as if more people have committed suicide now.
“There are no simple solutions and we hope people will seek help rather than take extreme measures of taking their life and the lives of people close to them.”
In the first half of this year, 37 Indian nationals took their lives in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, out of 544 reported deaths.
Psychological and personal problems, and debt, have been blamed for suicides. The embassy did not provide numbers for Abu Dhabi.
“We have no magic wand and cannot get everybody out of a debt situation,” Mr Seetharam said. “There must be some attempt to take responsibility, spend wisely and be cautious.
“We can help to offer professional legal advice and guidance for better, wiser financial planning so they can get out through their own efforts. But we should not and do not want to create dependency.
“They should not be rash and think ‘somebody else will bail me out’.”
The community was shocked in 2011 when a couple living in Ras Al Khaimah hanged their daughter, 8, before taking their own lives. Police said unpaid loans were again the cause.
Indian suicides in the UAE reached 176 during the 2008 economic crisis. Officials blamed job loss, mental stress and financial woes.
Social pressure and easily accessible credit caused many to sink into a cycle of debt.
“Our advice is to avoid a debt trap and that requires a change of attitude with help of family, friends and society,” Mr Seetharam said.
“There are all kinds of family and societal pressures in terms of expectations about what they should do and the support they provide to family and gifts they give.
“We live in a consumption orientated society with advertisements all around encouraging people to borrow or spend, and they try to match somebody else’s lifestyle.”
He also urged vigilance within the community to notice signs of people getting into trouble.
“The enormity of a situation may tend to drive people to desperate measures,” Mr Seetharam said.
“A large part can be played by family and friends who are better placed to be aware of situations when individuals take these unfortunate decisions.”
Indian missions and welfare groups aim to increase awareness about the availability of assistance.
The toll-free helpline 800 46342 (800-INDIA), launched in 2010 with the help of the Indian Community Welfare Committee, is available 24 hours. Private radio stations also provide counselling programmes.
“Greater awareness to avoid debt would help,” said Mr Seetharam. “We need to encourage people to save and this is also being done by embassy awareness programmes.
“There are experts who provide advice but there must be greater awareness to participate. We must start encouraging a culture of investing.
“A lot is being done by associations to provide assistance to people in trouble. The media can help tell them where to reach out, and religious leaders can help give direction in stressful situations.
“More can be done by everyone – immediate family, community associations, embassies or religious gatherings in churches, mosques and temples.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Honeymoonish
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Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
