British veteran John Murphy, 60, has been left “trapped” and “homeless” in Dubai, unable to return to the UK even to attend his mother's funeral. He has spent the past decade living on the streets of the Gulf city after being arrested in 2015.
Arrest and Debt
John was originally arrested in neighbouring Abu Dhabi in 2015 and briefly jailed while awaiting trial following a disagreement with a security guard. He was later acquitted but owed his landlord money for rent not paid while he was in jail. When he could not pay, the government seized his possessions and banned him from leaving the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The ex-soldier has also been blocked from working since 2017. He says the only way to leave his life on the scorching streets would be to commit a crime and get deported, which he refuses to do.
Mother's Death
Now John's last remaining parent, mother Patricia Reidy, has died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage. But the UAE's restrictions mean he has been refused permission to leave Dubai to attend her funeral in Ireland. “I'm an only child and have always had a tight knit bond with mum,” John told Detained In Dubai. “The thought of not being there physically to see her off is a shame on me and will raise questions about my non attendance that could have far reaching negative impacts on close family and friends.”
John turned 60 on 29 July, spending another year “trapped” in the UAE. The veteran from Limerick has now spent the last decade sleeping rough while battling the excruciating summer heat. The brutal temperatures and lack of medical attention have led to him developing an aggressive form of skin cancer.
Struggle to Survive
“My biggest issue is finding shade and potable water,” John explained. “Your instinct every day starts with that. It's a brutal existence and I have my military training to fall back on, even after all these years. The joys of Dubai. All day trying to fry you but when that doesn't work it chucks a dust storm at you to suffocate you.”
John added: “Based on my last salary I've calculated that over the eleven years I've been prohibited from working, I've lost out on earnings totalling £1.5m. This would have cleared any debt as I've never had debt in my life. Once my balance got below 15,000 dirhams they would add further cases. This has been going on for eleven years where they've bled me dry and left me destitute for something I never did. Since all my savings have been eroded in constant government penalties, donations dried up and even a small box partition became unfeasible. Despite committing no crime I've had an eleven year sentence that has no sign of ending. It feels that the only option for people in my position is to commit a crime that warrants deportation. I pointedly refused as I never committed a crime in the first instance. Yet they've banned me from working and banned me from leaving. It's a whole life sentence.”
Appeal for Help
Radha Stirling from Detained In Dubai has been helping share John's story. They are now calling on the UAE authorities to immediately lift the restrictions preventing him from returning home. This would allow him to bury his mother and begin rebuilding a life that has been on hold for more than a decade.
A GoFundMe has been started in his name with a target of £35,000 to get him back to the UK and to receive urgent medical and dental treatment. Radha Stirling said: “No civilised justice system should leave a man homeless, unable to work, unable to leave the country, and powerless to attend his own mother's funeral. Today should have been a celebration of John's 60th birthday with his family. Instead, he is grieving alone on the streets of Dubai, wondering whether anyone in authority will show the compassion that has so far been absent. John requires medical attention and reminds me substantially of the case of the late David Oliver, an American who was held as a debt hostage and only survived a short few months after finally being allowed to return home. The Dubai debt trap is killing people.”
