Lina is from Iloilo on the Visayan Islands in Central Philippines; and she had been ill with colon cancer and confined at the South Pasadena Cancer Center since Oct. 19, 2011.
“A very talented girl, she came up with drawings. From these drawings depicting various subjects close to her heart, Serene came up with 15 paintings in watercolors on canvas,” her father Saleh Al-Hariqi told Arab News. Al-Hariqi is currently working at the Ministry of Education's Computer Technology Center in Al-Rass, Qassim,
Last Tuesday, Serene mounted a one-woman show at her school, Second Mediterian School in Al-Rass, with the assistance of teacher Monira Al-Obishi who coordinated all the activities for the exhibition, and principal Huda Al-Sohibani. The exhibition was entitled “My hands wipe my sadness.”
To ensure attendance for the show, Al-Obishi called local art connoisseurs, well-to-do people who could afford to buy artworks and others sympathetic to Serene's cause. One of them was Al-Ras Gov. Khaled Al-Assaf and his wife Sultanah who paid SR 10,000 for a painting and served as the guest of honor. The show was for women only.
“Others paid different amounts for various paintings, from SR1,000 up. Some of them bought the paintings out of sympathy for Serene and my family. An entry fee of SR 100 per guest was also collected,” Al-Hariqi told Arab News.
Before the exhibition was opened, Serene addressed the crowd. “We can't thank you enough for having come to my show, really a milestone in my young life, and profoundly meaningful as far as my family is concerned, especially for my mom,” she said.
Hessa, Al-Hariqi's 21-year-old daughter and the oldest of three children, also read a message from her mother Lina, who “expressed deep sorrow that she could not be present during Serene's show and thanked all those who were with us during times of need, especially the Hariqi clan.”
Lina also expressed thanks to the doctors and nurses of Al-Ras Hospital for taking care of her while still in the Kingdom.
Hessa quoted her mother as saying: “That I may not see my children again makes my heart sink, although before I left Al-Ras, I hugged them and promised that I'd go back to them.”
She also said: “Cancer is a dreaded disease and strikes anybody. It's not only painful to the victim but also hard on the pocket.” She advised all cancer patients in Saudi Arabia not to lose hope.
Incidentally, all the Al-Hariqi children — Hessa, Ibrahim and Serene-- speak Tagalog and sing as well. This is why they are often invited to sing in various functions. Saleh Al-Hariqi, incidentally, is very active in the Filipino community.
Aside from the big amount that the family had spent for hospital treatment, what encourages the family to do their best to raise funds is the fact that Lina has been making progress.
“She underwent a successful operation recently but her doctor said that it's necessary that she also undergo chemotherapy,” Al-Hariqi said.
Lina was diagnosed of having colon cancer last year and Al-Hariqi decided that she be brought to the United States for treatment.
Aside from working as nurse in a hospital in Al-Ras, Lina was also managing their beauty parlor, dress shop and fishpond.
