Dubai: As those around her mark Mother’s Day on March 21, one Dubai-based mum says she has nothing to celebrate.
- Dubai-based mother
Having lost her eight-year-old daughter in a tragic road accident in the city late last year, the Asian woman claims she cannot even grieve her irreparable loss as a dreadful chain of events has numbed her beyond belief.
A widow who came to the UAE last year after her husband’s death back home, she said, “I came here in the hope of starting a new life with my daughter. I enrolled her into a good school in September.”
But fate had other plans for the duo.
“On one public holiday, my daughter and I were out at a park. On our way back home, she was crossing the road near the park when she was run over by a car. She was rushed to the hospital where doctors tried to save her. But she did not make it.”
Shattered
The woman said although she was completely shattered, she flew to her home country with her daughter’s body for the funeral.
“But when I returned to the UAE, I was in for another shock.”
The woman claimed, “I was handcuffed and arrested upon my arrival. I had not received any summons, so I did not know why. I was taken to a police station and it was only there that I discovered I had been charged as a careless parent causing death to my child.
"Though I was released, my passport was withheld and I felt like a criminal.”
The woman said the case of negligence against her was eventually dismissed.
“The judgment in the actual accident case is also out. Both the car driver and my daughter were found guilty as my daughter was not on the yellow line when she crossed the road.”
She said: “I still can’t believe all that has happened. There may be a perception that I did not take care when my daughter was crossing the road.
"What greater suffering can there be for a mother than losing her child? But I raised my girl to the best of my ability on my own."
"As someone who lost her parents at a young age, I brought her up to be independent. She was very responsible and within two months of her joining school here, she had made a mark and become a star student.
"But what can I say, nothing in life is permanent.”
