Dubai: When Aika last saw her mum, Febie Layug Guzman, she was just 13 years old; her siblings were aged 7 and 5. Six years later, they’re still waiting to see their mum in what will be a heartbreaking reunion.
Febie, 44, a salon worker in Ajman passed away on November 15. The Filipina’s remains however were mixed-up and a different body, that of another Filipina, was sent to her family in the Philippines this weekend.
Febie was found unconscious in the streets of Ajman on November 6. She was then taken to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital but she died nine days later. Her body was transferred to Ajman Police for investigation that same month.
Following the unfortunate incident, the family has postponed her burial rites for now.
“We do not know what really happened to our mum. We had been told that she had an aneurysm,” Aika, 19, Febie’s eldest daughter, told Gulf News in a phone interview from the Philippines.
“It’s hard to accept that our mum will not be with us anymore. My sister and brother are still young,” she added.
Aika said her mother was supposed to come home in October last year.
“My mum told my grandma that she wanted to surprise us and that she would come home on October 25. She had prepared everything for her trip. But then she called us and told us that her employer did not buy her a ticket,” Aika said.
Aika said her mother sacrificed a lot to help her father, who works as a carpenter, give them a good life. She came to Ajman to work as a salon worker with a salary of 10,000 pesos (Dh730), and a promise of an increase after some time. But the increase never came.
The Philippine Consulate-General, through its Assistance-To-Nationals (ATN) Section is extending help to the family.
“The consulate extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Febie Layug Guzman. We’re doing everything we can, we’re coordinating with local authorities to be able to get to the bottom of this and to repatriate the body of Guzman as soon as we can,” Vice-Consul Marianne Bringas, head of the ATN Section, said.
ATN Officer Aldrine Perez, who has been handling the case since November, said the consulate has filed a complaint against Febie’s employer with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation to get her end of service benefits.
“We are coordinating with the local governments and hopefully we will have a clear course of action from them. Her personal effects will also be sent to her family once obtained from her company accommodation,” Perez said.
Aika said she and her siblings are having a hard time to cope with their loss.
“It’s extremely difficult for us. Our mother had not gone home in six years to see us since she came to the UAE. Now, she’s coming home in a casket,” Aika said.
“All we ask is to see our mum’s remains and put her to rest. This is her right.”
