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Sharjah-based mom, daughter lose everything after fire razes their home of 37 years

Sharjah - The Diamond family has lived on the ground floor of Building 11, part of the famed Baladiya Buildings in 10th street Abu Shagara for over three decades.

A day after New Year’s Day, a Pakistani family in Sharjah lost their home of 37 years — and virtually everything they had.

Left with nothing except their passports and Emirates IDs, long-term Sharjah residents Victoria Diamond John and her mother Hannah Diamond John said the blaze in their Abu Shagara apartment has destroyed all their belongings, leaving them without a place to call home.

The Diamond family has lived on the ground floor of Building 11, part of the famed Baladiya Buildings in 10th street Abu Shagara for over three decades. It is believed a short circuit in the bedroom air-conditioner caused the fire; however, investigations are under way.

Though Sharjah civil defence authorities arrived on-site immediately after the fire broke out, the mother and daughter have lost all their possessions in the fire, including their one-year-old pet cat Pouchki.

“I could hear her cry from inside the bedroom… but the flames were too big for me to save her. Fortunately, our four-year-old pet Labrador, Apollo, and our younger cat Kiki survived the fire. Now, we have nowhere to go,” a distraught Victoria told Khaleej Times.

The latest tragedy to strike the Diamond family has left mom and daughter devastated as they are still grieving the death of Hannah’s older son Simon and father John, who died in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Hannah and Victoria ushered in the New Year at home in the hopes that 2021 would bring them some good fortune as the past few years had been financially challenging for the family, especially after Covid-19 struck.

“I was born and raised here. All our important documents, clothes, appliances, my father’s and brother’s original death certificates… all gone,” Victoria said.

“My mum was at home when the fire broke out. I had left home for a few moments to get some groceries for her as she was cooking food. When I got back home, I saw that a small crowd had formed outside my building,” she explained.

Since the Diamond family are long-term residents of the area, the entire neighbourhood had stepped out to help them. “I found my mom outside the apartment in a shaken state. I ran back inside to save the cats as my mom was able to move Apollo to our neighbour’s house. I opened the balcony door and one cat escaped,” she explained.

Hannah said, “It was Apollo who alerted me about the fire. I was in the kitchen when the fire started. Everything happened very fast. Within moments, the curtains were on fire and the blaze just ripped through the house.”

Though Hannah works with a telecommunications company in Sharjah, Victoria has been out of a job since Covid-19 struck. “We were already in some financial difficulties since my father’s and brother’s death… but this incident has reduced us to nothing,” said Victoria.

“All our childhood memories, photos, my mother’s wedding dress, her veil… all of it has been lost. These are things that cannot be recreated. My entire life was in this house… this is also where my brother’s kids were born,” said Victoria.

The mother and daughter have now temporarily shifted into a friend’s apartment and had been looking for a new place to stay in. “We need a pet-friendly place as Apollo and Kiki are members of the family. Giving them up is unimaginable,” she added.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com