by B. R. GOWANI
one room 16 feet by 10 feet in Dubai
with no windows
and unbearable intense heat
is reality of little Jerry’s world –
.
if you can fit in with Jerry and 8 other people
you’re most welcome
anytime
’cause he’s always there
24/7, 365/366 days
.
six-year-old Jerry can’t leave the hell hole
it is his only world, galaxy, universe
he never separates that place from him
neither for school nor for a doctor
neither for friends nor for relatives
…
outside that hell hole he’s non-existent
if he steps outside, questions will be raised
where did Jerry come from?
as his birth is not registered
nor has he flown in from the Philippines with his mother
besides Allah don’t rain children
(Allah only produces bastards like Saudi/UAE rulers
United Arab Emirates is made of 7 emirates
that also includes Dubai)
.
the Dubai police would want to know:
parent’s names and their martial status
.
mother is a migrant worker to support family members back home
maid work she had to quit because of nasty employers
someone helped her; impregnated her
didn’t want to own the child so he kicked her out
.
Neng gave birth to Jerry and ended up in this overcrowded room
she found work where she’s underpaid
,
going back to Philippines is a death warrant
there’s nothing there except Duterte, a rogue ruler
leaders like Duterte are the in-thing nowadays
from India to Hungary to Brazil
not to forget the Globo Rogue Trump
.
Jerry simply does not exist for the UAE government
because his birth is not registered
if he goes out and tries to prove his existence
his mother will be behind the bars
because he was born out of wedlock
that’s a big crime in the UAE
.
Neng has committed “zena,” i.e. sex outside marriage
which in Islamic UAE is a crime
as if this country is innocent of crime
but, of course, the reality is entirely different
.
UAE has tens of thousands of prostitutes
the country is famous for sex tourism
Dubai alone has 30,000 sex workers
.
although, prostitution is legally banned
sex workers offer their services publicly
the country has about 6.5 million exploited migrant laborers
in all walks of life, treated inhumanly
one can go on and on …
.
suffice to say
laws are made to exploit, harass, and screw the common people
religion/nation/corporations are used to create the inhumane laws
without compassion for the average powerless Jerry
..
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com
.
Information about Jerry and Neng is from Katie McQue’s article “‘It’s a very big torture’: the children growing up in hiding in Dubai” in The Guardian of January 2, 2019.)