DUBAI'S CITY OF HOPE CLOSED

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUBAI 000242 STATE FOR G/TIP, NEA/ARP, CA/OCS E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/11/2019 TAGS: PHUM CACS PGOV AE SUBJECT: DUBAI'S CITY OF HOPE CLOSED REF: A. A) DUBAI 222 B) DUBAI 220 C) DUBAI 205 D) ABU DHABI 269 ¶B. E) ABU DHABI 377 F) ABU DHABI 476 CLASSIFIED BY: Paul Sutphin, Consul General, Consulate General Dubai, State. REASON: 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) As presaged in reftels A, B, and C, Dubai's only non-governmental women's shelter, City of Hope (CoH),closed on June 2, 2009 with neither fanfare nor press coverage. As reported, this unfortunate event followed political controversy about suspect allegations reported in some local newspapers regarding practices at the shelter, and the activities of its founder and erstwhile director, Sharla Musabih. Although hard facts are murky, it appears to us that what brought COH down in the end, however, was a lack of financial support and management vacuum in Sharla's absence since the summer of 2008; in addition, it appears the villa's private owner decided he no longer wanted his property used as a shelter. The villa, located in an upscale Dubai neighborhood, is now padlocked. ¶2. (U) All, except for one, of the women residing at CoH were successfully relocated prior to the formal closing of the shelter. The last resident was an Iranian woman unable to be placed with a volunteer. In a unique development, the Dubai police pressured the woman's ex-husband to restart alimony payments and provide her with housing. ¶3. (U) CoH Director and founder, Sharla Musabih, currently residing in the U.S., has not communicated with Post regarding the closure of the shelter. ¶4. (SBU) Per reftel 222, CoH's one Amcit resident departed CoH prior to its closure and is in contact with the Consular Section via cell phone. SUTPHIN