Nasser Al Mazrouei, 34, has been living in government care since contracting HIV at the age of 18. For the past three years he has been confined to a Baniyas clinic. Courtesy Nasser Al Mazrouei
Nasser Al Mazrouei, 34, has been living in government care since contracting HIV at the age of 18. For the past three years he has been confined to a Baniyas clinic. Courtesy Nasser Al Mazrouei
Nasser Al Mazrouei, 34, has been living in government care since contracting HIV at the age of 18. For the past three years he has been confined to a Baniyas clinic. Courtesy Nasser Al Mazrouei
Nasser Al Mazrouei, 34, has been living in government care since contracting HIV at the age of 18. For the past three years he has been confined to a Baniyas clinic. Courtesy Nasser Al Mazrouei

Special report: Emirati man with HIV held for more than a decade at health facility


  • English
  • Arabic

HIV in the UAE:

Lack of accurate data in UAE fuels HIV stigma

Emirati HIV sufferer wants help to find a partner

Emirati man with HIV held for more than a decade at health facility

_____________________________________________________________

ABU DHABI // An Emirati man with HIV has been waiting 16 years to be released from government care because his family won’t give their consent.

Nasser Al Mazrouei, 34, contracted the virus in 1999 at the age of 18 and has lived in government clinics since.

Three years ago he moved to a new facility – a clinic in Baniyas which has security fencing and two guards stationed outside.

A UAE law says nationals with HIV should not be detained. A 2010 law says “authorities shall provide the social, financial and spiritual support to the person living with HIV/Aids and his or her family, in a way that guarantees them a decent life and that they are not isolated from the society”.

The centre, however, stipulates that a family member must consent to Mr Al Mazrouei’s release.

“I’m a grown man; why does anyone have to consent for my release?” he said.

“Why don’t they just allow me to leave? I’ll mind my own business and see to my life.”

Mr Al Mazrouei is not allowed to leave the clinic unsupervised. He said he had to attend his father’s funeral in handcuffs, accompanied by security guards.

He can visit the local supermarket only with a security guard. He is allowed visitors, but a reporter from The National was not allowed to meet him last month.

“My family don’t want me. They left me here when I was first brought in and refused to take me in,” said Mr Al Mazrouei.

“My father was asked to claim me, but he just left me here and no one came. He told the guards that he didn’t want to speak to me and asked them to keep holding me. I tried to speak to him but he refused.”

A source at the centre said: “Every officer knows of Nasser’s case and everyone feels sorry for him. We have pleaded with his family to come and take him from here, but they have refused.

“His father insisted that Nasser does not leave the facility, and now his brothers want to keep him in.”

Mr Al Mazrouei is one of nine siblings, and his family lives less than a block away. “They hardly ever visit and if they do then it’s maybe once or a maximum twice a year,” he said. “My mother told me to call her every few months and not to bother her too much.”

He has access to a computer and a mobile phone, but has received no education since dropping out of high school.

“I do sometimes wish I was in prison,” he said. “At least there they get a chance to continue their education.”

He receives government assistance from Social Services, but said his mother had promised to release him.

“She told me a few months ago that she would come and take me out of here, but all I get are promises,” he said. “All I want is to get out. I won’t bother anyone or visit them if that’s what they want. Who will compensate me for my life that was wasted?”

_____________________________________________________________

About this package:

Despite increased awareness, stigma and a lack of statistics on patients infected with HIV persist in the UAE. People prefer to conceal their status, believing that treatment in the UAE would expose them, say experts.

A lack of support for patients is a concern for a 45-year-old Emirati with HIV, who believes there should also be a “matchmaking” programme for people in his position.

According to a report by the Population Reference Bureau in coordination with the United Nations, Iran is one of the only regional countries to successfully introduce Positive Clubs for people with the disease.

Meanwhile an Emirati man with HIV has been waiting 16 years to be released from government care because his family won’t give their consent and despite UAE law saying nationals with HIV should not be detained.

salnuwais@thenational.ae

Sole survivors
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  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.

T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings 
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

Aaron Finch, Matt Renshaw, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (captain), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Jon Holland, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle

The biog

Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia

Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins

Favourite dish: Grilled fish

Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

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Dust storm

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Innotech Profile

Date started: 2013

Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now. 

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A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

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5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi

6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle

6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi

Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.

The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

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United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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

The five pillars of Islam

THE SPECS

Touareg Highline

Engine: 3.0-litre, V6

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 340hp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh239,312