It started when she lost her property sales job two years ago; everything went downhill

Jobless single mother Nailya Gusseinova and her daughter Narmina are homeless and without any help. Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Dubai: For two decades she lived a quintessential Dubai life - drove a luxury car, invested in properties and made good money - until two years ago, when the economy touched her life on its way down and she fell on bad times.

For Kazakh national Nailya Gusseinova, the bad times have now taken a turn for the worst as she and her 10-year-old daughter are literally on the streets.

I can’t find a job, I was evicted out of my flat because I couldn’t pay the rent and my child is out of school because I can’t pay the fees.

- Nailya Gusseinova

It started when she lost her property sales job two years ago, and then lost all her savings trying to run an interior decoration business.

“I was doing well. I never had to borrow any money or ask for any help in the 22 years I have lived here. I worked hard and there were months when I made close to Dh100,000 in commissions. But, now I am in a dire situation. I can’t find a job, I was evicted out of my flat because I couldn’t pay the rent and my child is out of school because I can’t pay the fees,” said Gusseinova, who is a single mother.

Nailya Gusseinova and her daughter Narmina Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Since October 2018, when she was forced out of her apartment, she has constantly been on the move with her daughter, shifting from place to place, spending a few days each with some friends, but she says, she has now run out of options.

“I am helpless now. I don’t know where to go and who to ask for help. I have knocked on the doors of so many charity organisations, but nobody wants to help. All I ask for is just a place to stay until I find a job,” she added.

Court cases follow her

The 42-year-old says she was able to find a couple of low-paying jobs, but after she accepted the offers she was asked to leave as they found out about her court cases.

“I found these very low paying jobs, they were offering me Dh2,000, which is not enough to even feed two people, but since I don’t have many choices I accepted the offers, however, when they found out that I was fighting court cases for my rent and loan, they kicked me out,” said Gusseinova, wondering how she was going to pay the dues if nobody would give her a job.

Gusseinova claims that her husband divorced her when she was pregnant with her daughter and is not willing to bear any cost of the child’s maintenance.

Nailya Gusseinova and her daughter Narmina Image Credit: Virendra Saklani/Gulf News

Personal life troubles and debts

“I got a divorce in 2008 and my parents died five years ago in quick succession. I took a loan when they were ill as I didn’t have money to pay their medical bills. I also have a car loan, now without a job I am unable to pay back anything, so the banks and the property owner have filed cases against me and because of the cases I am not getting a job. What am I supposed to do?” she asked.

Gusseinova has dues of around Dh180,000 including unpaid rents and delayed payment fees, car loan, personal loan and credit card debt.