Emirates Islamic Bank guarantees the payment of AED 154,000 of accumulated debt to the blind citizen Jamal, who is behind the bars of Sharjah Central Prison on a financial case.

For his part, he coordinated the hotline between the bank and the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai to transfer the amount of the donation to the Sharjah Central Prison Administration to settle Gamal's debts and begin the proceedings for his release.

"The Bank's contribution comes from the Department's keenness to participate in supporting the humanitarian situation and community initiatives in the country," said Awatif Al Harmoudi, General Manager of Operational Quality and Operations at Emirates Islamic Bank. "The Bank's management is always seeking community participation in the public interest , And translate its policy into humanitarian philanthropy.

She added that the administration decided to help the prisoner immediately and stand by him, after the publication of «Emirates Today» story, pointing out that the bank decided to take care of the remaining amount of its financial case.

She pointed out that «the donation comes as a translation of the leadership policy in humanitarian philanthropy», calling on the private sector to activate its role more community, and join hands with humanitarian situations and community initiatives that are in the public interest.

Today, Emirates Today published the story of Jamal, who has been living in the dark of visual impairment for 11 years. He has been suffering from diabetes since his birth. A month in the case of a financial case of AED154 thousand, due to stumbling in the project Tejari.

"My life was going on normally until I decided to open a business at the end of last year, a perfume shop so I could have a new one in my life," said 30-year-old Jamal. My monthly income, I can repay my financial requirements, especially the loan I got in 2016, to buy a car to help me go to work. I then went to a national bank to take a personal loan to finance my business, but I refused to have a previous loan of $ 150,000 AED, I have not yet finished it, which is a loan to build an annex to the house, and the bank was cut from my salary AED 4000 per month ».

He added: «I met a friend from an Arab country, and I put the idea of ​​the project and agreed to lend me the amount I need to open the project on condition of a percentage of profits, and the amount of funding of the project 154 thousand dirhams, and began to prepare for the opening of my business, and went to the Economic Department to open the license "My friends, whom I borrowed from them for 120,000 dirhams in 2016 to buy a car, asked me to pay the debt, arguing that I had the debt as long as I opened a commercial license. I did not know what to do then."

Gamal pointed out that he was seeking to open the project so that he could repay his debt and meet the requirements of life, and that he tried to convince them that he wanted to open the project to repay the debt, but they refused and demanded him to pay the amount of debt or recourse to the judiciary, and had no choice but to give them the amount of debt Of the amount allocated to open the perfume project, and evaporated the dream of his life, and could not open the project.

He added: "The person who received the sum of the project was informed that the project would not take place. He opened a counter-notification in December last year and gave me two months to pay the amount, but I could not manage the amount and entered the Central Prison in Sharjah on a financial case of AED154,000 .

"I live in a family of eight, my father is a retired man, I work in a government agency in Fujairah, and I work in a job for a staff member with a salary of 8700 dirhams, of which 4050 dirhams goes for bank supplies, and 2,000 dirhams go to the driver's salary. Ras Al Khaimah to my work in Fujairah, as I have been visually impaired for 11 years, because of my diabetes. "

Happy News

Jamal expressed his deep happiness and thanks to the Bank for its kind stand on his side in light of his suffering on the financial issue.

He pointed out that the news of the donation warmed his chest and brought happiness to the members of his family in the difficult circumstances that go through, pointing out that this is not strange to the bank and its solidarity with humanitarian situations in society.

• Jamal has been living in the dark of visual impairment for 11 years as a result of diabetes since birth.