36-Year-Old Brazilian Found Dead in Dubai, and Family Reports Difficulty Obtaining Information | Sao Paulo

Julio worked as a bartender at a luxury hotel restaurant in that country and had been missing since last Thursday (13), when he told his family in Brazil that he was off work and would go to a mall in the region where he lived. After that, he didn’t send any more messages or return calls from the family.

The family members claim that, in addition to confirming the death, the embassy did not provide any details about the case. “At the moment, we still don’t have details of what happened, as the Dubai police are still investigating”, says an excerpt from the text sent by e-mail by the embassy to the bartender’s mother.

An only child, he kept in daily contact with his mother and other relatives in São Paulo, and the change in behavior made them start searching for his whereabouts.

Since Thursday, they had been trying, without success, to get information from the bartender’s place of work and close friends. At the time, they only managed to confirm that he had not returned to the accommodation and had not taken his cell phone or passport with him, which were in the room he shared with a co-worker.

On Monday (17), a hotel employee contacted Julio’s mother to report the death. He said he had no details on the cause or where the body was found, but said it was found on a beach last Friday and that police were investigating the situation.

According to Ely Tatiane Moreira Barboza, Julio’s cousin, the family was very surprised when he stopped answering calls, as he had never done so. The distance and the difficulty to communicate with people in the other country, without command of the language, increased the family’s anguish, which until now had little information and does not know when they will have access to the Brazilian’s body.

“We just want him back, we want to bring him here, but it’s all very difficult. We don’t know anything, we don’t know where he was found, what happened, how he died. We are waiting, and this anguish only increases because we do not know who to turn to or when we will be able to bring him to Brazil,” he said.

View of Dubai’s skyscrapers — Photo: Photo: Disclosure Plaenge

According to Ely, the cousin went to Dubai in search of a dream. Graduated in law, he ended up migrating to the area of ​​gastronomy and events. As he mastered English and loved to travel, he decided to take a job abroad to get to know new places and save money to buy an apartment in São Paulo, the city where he lived with his mother before leaving for the United Arab Emirates in January. this year.

“He was very happy, doing what he liked, seeing other places. I can’t believe what happened, that all this was interrupted”, said the cousin.

For her, the family’s main question at this moment is to know effectively what happened to him, if there was any crime and on which beach he was found. “Julio knew how to swim well and worked on ships, he had specific training, I can’t believe he died accidentally. We need more information, to know where he was found, what beach this was and what conditions he was in.”

The bartender’s cousin says her aunt is unhappy. “His mother is devastated, unhappy with the situation, she can’t believe what happened. He was her only child.”

TV Globo contacted the embassy and Itamaraty, but until the last update of this report, no response was received.