ABU DHABI // The body of a Filipino job-seeker stabbed to death on a visa run to Kish Island two weeks ago is still in a Tehran morgue, with no indication of when it can be sent home.
Mark Lloyd Carmen, 24, was stabbed at a hotel on July 1 in a fight with a Sudanese man, allegedly by a second Sudanese man who stepped in to break up the melee and is on trial for murder.
Mr Carmen was pronounced dead on arrival at the local hospital, according to John Leonard Monterona, the Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, an organisation set up to protect the welfare of Filipino migrants,
He said the group sought help from diplomats after receiving word of the death from other Filipinos staying on the island.
Carmen's aunt, Estela Gonzaga, 37, who lives in Al Ain, flew to Kish Island on July 2 to identify his body and attend a court hearing on the case.
"The main suspect, who admitted to the crime, was charged with murder," she said. "Both Sudanese men are currently detained in a Kish jail."
Ms Gonzaga said her nephew had been staying at a hotel on the island since June 11 while waiting for a new tourist visa to re-enter the Emirates.
He spent the previous two months looking for a job in Abu Dhabi and staying with his brother-in-law.
"They would come to see me every Friday in Al Ain," Ms Gonzaga said. "I can't believe he's gone."
He leaves behind his wife and two children, aged three years and six months, respectively, in General Santos City, in the southern Philippines. He dreamt of bringing his wife to the Emirates once he was settled in his new job, she said.
"Like any Filipino coming to work in the UAE, he wanted to give his family a better future," she said.
Yuri Cipriano, the vice chairman of the UAE chapter of Migrante, said: "We could have avoided this if our government provided adequate jobs back home."
He called on officials from the Philippine embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tehran to check on the living conditions of stranded Filipinos who are forced to stay in overcrowded hotel rooms on Kish Island.
For years, the island has been a popular destinations for those who go on so-called visa runs to extend their tourist visas while waiting for residency in the UAE.
Many Filipino job-seekers opt, like Mr Carmen, to take the short flight to Kish Island to renew expired tourist visas instead of returning to the Philippines. The island lies about 240km from Dubai and about 17km from the southern shore of Iran. Ms Gonzaga said that during her visit she met many Filipinos with expired visas who have been stranded for months and have been running up large bills.
"I really pity those who were duped by illegal recruiters who sold them visas, but didn't provide them with jobs," she said.
The situation illustrates the problems involving migrant workers who do not have proper working documents before heading to the UAE.
Last month, Amilbahar Amilasan, the new labour attache in Dubai, said the Philippine government should do more to prevent job-seekers from coming to work on tourist visas. They should apply through a recruitment agency accredited with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, he said.
The Philippine Embassy in Tehran has recommended the department of foreign affairs (DFA) in Manila provide a repatriation fund for the deceased if the family cannot afford the cost of sending his body home, Mr Monterona said.
Yesterday, he said the DFA was asking Mr Carmen's family to pay US$8,000 (Dh29,385) to send his remains home because he was an undocumented worker.
"The repatriation of his remains is likely to take time," Mr Monterona said. "An embassy officer in Tehran told me there were more than a dozen dead bodies of Filipinos kept in the morgue for several months."
rruiz@thenational.ae
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Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Specs
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday
Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm kick-off UAE)
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Cologne (5.30pm)
Mainz v Arminia Bielefeld (5.30pm)
Augsburg v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich (8.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Freiburg (10.30pm)
Sunday
VfB Stuttgart v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Union Berlin v Hertha Berlin (8pm)
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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
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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