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The scars go back many years but they are clearly visible on her left arm. This was where the mother of the man who had promised her a bette...

The scars go back many years but they are clearly visible on her left arm. This was where the mother of the man who had promised her a better life burnt her with a hot rod.

The country where she went to set up her second home has released her after six years in prison. Her Pakistani visa and Indian passport had expired and Fatimabi Ahmed Abdul-Rahman Salem, now 55, had no one to turn to for help.

For all that, the woman from Mumbai who reached New Delhi last night, is remarkably free of bitterness. She has just two thoughts. 8220;Now I must find my children, and then find a family that needs a domestic help.8221;

A job and her family. It does not sound a big ambition for someone who has been making the headlines in Pakistan and India and had an entire media contingent as well as several NGOs waiting for her flight to land last night. But ever since Fatimabi8217;s first husband was murdered by a mob in the 1992 riots in Mumbai, she has yearned for a normal life 8212; only to be thrust into more pain.

In 1987, even before her husband8217;s death, she had moved to Dubai to work as domestic help. Her daughters Zahida, Sharifa and Haneefa were just three, four and five years old then and had to be left behind in Mumbai. Now, they must be young women.

It was in Dubai that she later met and married Ramzan Khan, a Pakistani cloth trader, and moved to Lahore. That was in 1994. The decision would lead to years of torture, separation from her children and a long spell in jail 8212; which ended only after Pakistani NGOs and the Indian Government took up her cause. The Sunday Express first reported on her case last week.

Fatimabi, who was whisked away by government officials when her flight arrived last night to spare her the glare of cameras, later spoke to this newspaper about the memories she wants to put behind her8212;and her one remaining quest.

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8216;8216;When the police came to take me away in 1999, they did not tell me why. There were no legal procedures, and my family did not stand in their way. My Pakistani friend asked them why they were taking me away, but she was brushed aside,8217;8217; Fatimabi says.

Her years in Lahore8217;s Kot Lakhpat jail were not easy. Some girls would smoke. Others would fight. All that Fatimabi did was to pray and think of her children who had no idea of her whereabouts.

8216;8216;I want to first find my sister Jameela and brother Mehboob Khan in Worli Naka, since they will know where my children are,8217;8217; she said.

Vimla Vohra, who is in charge of the hostel where Fatimabi is now staying, says she is cheerful and in good health.

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8216;8216;Mrs Vohra has been like a mother to me,8217;8217; Fatimabi is quick to add. 8216;8216;Allah has been good to me.8217;8217;

No regrets. No rancour. All she wants now is her family and a job.