Today’s news, I quote from ARAB NEWS:
DAMMAM: A private van driver faces charges of criminal negligence following the death on Sunday of a five-year-old girl who was left unattended for five hours in the vehicle in the full glare of the sun outside the International Indian School in Dammam’s Al-Raka district.
Extremely sad news. Painful.
Let me tell you another story. Some years ago. A friend of mine told me of a friend of his who worked for the police. This man was leaving home dressed in civilian clothes to go to work when he noticed a driver sitting in a GMC SUBURBAN alone, looking a bit weird. Being a cop , he was vigilant. He got suspicious and went very quietly around the car, to peek inside. What he saw almost made him SHOOT this driver. The driver sat there abusing his employers child, sexually. The man opened the door, having caught the man red handed, and suffered patiently to take him to the station and take action.
Here is another story. I caught a housemaid slapping a little girl around, shouting at her in a hotel lift. Her parents were either waiting in the car for them or in the room. This child was alone with the maid. I stopped her right there and then. I told her that she is leaving to where ever the heck she came from that minute. This is NOT OK!.. the child was SCARED!.. the maid started to beg me not to tell her parents. Oh, Was I going to tell them. An undercover officer, a dear friend of mine, who was STATIONED at the hotel came and I told him what this was and what I had seen. He promised me that he will take care of this with the maids boss and requested I don’t talk to them. He did talk to the father. And I did hear that they were going to send her back or God knows what. But, WHY allow this to begin with? How could ANYONE leave their child unmonitored like this? HOW?
What the HECK IS GOING ON!!!
I will tell you what is going on. One man brings 500 people , males and females under his sponsorship NO BACKGROUND CHECKS – and lets them into the city to find work by hook or by crook. Anyone becomes anything on that level of work we call below the line, or lower category jobs. Housemaids that have run away from employers get jobs. Drivers that have run away from employers get jobs. They even buy private vans and take children to school. Privately sponsored.
I beg the government of Saudi Arabia to STOP THIS. Get aggressive with this. Please.
DO not allow people to bring in workers that cause troubles in this country. Do you have any idea how many kids have been abused here? And ARE abused daily by these UNKNOWN people? ALL labor, ALL DRIVERS .. in fact ALL expatriates should be sponsored by the government! With checks and approvals. With EYES OPEN!
In the case above, the people who should GO TO JAIL are the parents and the damn school itself. These parents just let their child ride ANY van? They did not make sure the kid is in class?? And that school! How much money do they raise every month?? How much do they charge for students? They could not have a monitor in every van they hire or at least count the kids and call parents if someone is missing? A school that has 16000 students! Do they just want to make money??
And where is the government in all this? Who are these damn private van drivers? Who issues them the license and authority to drive little kids around? What the HELL is a “PRIVATE VAN”.. who owns it? Who gives it permission to act as a public transport vehicle?? It has to be a Saudi owner. Because if it is now a Saudi Owner and any Tom , DIck and Harry can get a van and start this business, then HEY! I will close my company and buy 10 vans with camera security and make big bucks too.. ! COME ON NOW!..
A CHILD HAS DIED. A 5 YEAR OLD BEAUTIFUL, LOVELY, PLAYFUL LITTLE GIRL. MY TEARS CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT!.. SHE DIED SUFFERING FROM HEAT! SHE DIED BECAUSE EVERYONE IS IN A HURRY!.. SHE DIED BECAUSE WE DON’T CARE ENOUGH!…
CLOSE DOWN THIS SCHOOL!
I am totally shocked that wealth is in abundance but no one cares to spend on the most vital areas of life here!!!!..
I apologize for being so angry and disturbed.. but EVERY PERSON LIVING ON THIS LAND is responsible for the MURDER of this child by this STUPID driver who was granted permission to run a van business for students. This is the TRUTH!
Real Talk Blog : ali shah 
You do Have a Gooood Point in saying that these illegal workers try and do any job they can to stay on in here and if they know driving it is most ideal. But the fact that parents should go to jail doesn’t make sense — it is the school’s responsibility to arrange for transport; They have 160000 children and only a handful of buses. Where will the rest of the parents go? the school buses- the huge saptco buses also are not very safe for kids as the little children are lost and squished by the bigger kids. there is no discipline in the bus and some parents are also apprehensive to send their children in those buses. The other thing is that these private vans assure the parents to drop off their child at their door step — this is not the case for the huge saptco buses as those buses cannot enter small roads and alleys. so some parents opt private vans for that reason. The van fee part is not a big deal as the charges are almost the same.
But Yes, a sensible parent would think that these private van drivers are not monitored nor can be responsible for any mishap or negligence whereas in the other case the school takes responsibility and claim care.
Well, this HAS been a wake up call for all the parents who have numerable complaints against the bus drivers like : speeding, rudeness towards parents, rudeness towards children,no monitoring children inside the bus, impatience etc etc . These complaints fall in deaf ears and the matter is forgotten again . I hope that all parents will form a strong body and speak to the superiors regarding the rules during transport for the official school buses as well as they are no different!
My son was left behind in school one day, and his brother was crying all the way. He was of course brought back immediately in the next bus as a special favour – but when asked how could they leave him in the first place causing trauma to him and his brother and me , the driver snapped at me saying ” At least we brought your child back and not left him there and done nothing!!!!” :O:O:O Is this the way they have to answer concerned parents? i got sooo mad but maintained my cool as i did not want them to blacklist my child lest any future favours i might need and or situations which might arise.
Another instance i saw the children playing and disturbing the driver as he was driving. they were beating him , pulling his hair and he was laughing and ducking away. How do u think he can keep his mind on the road?????? Also if something happens like if a child screams or vomits in the bus causing sudden uproar — it is only upto the driver to turn around and do something – thereby distracting him at some god-forbid traffic turn or situation. THere HAS to be an attendant minding the children so that the driver can drive in peace!!!!!
They need to follow protocol – they need to take special care — the drivers must be given extra special training in politeness, the huge responsibility they are shouldering, road traffic rules and also Keep an attendant in the bus at all times to monitor children.
I understand how ANGRY AND DISTURBED you were and I AM TOOOO right now!! the laid back attitude of these schools and the transport system does get your blood boiling – all for what ??? its the life of a child we r talking about — isn’t the change worth it???
All parents should refuse a private van with a monitor in it. All parents should tell the school, monitored buses for all or no deal. If 2000 kids don’t go to scholl, they will get buses.
If a driver told me what that driver told you, he would not see 24 hrs in ksa! After I rub his nose on his van several times!
I pray for that child’s parents and I am still in pain because of this. I will be forever. I will pray for them in my five prayers, in all my prayers. This is another pain I will store in my heart and take it to my Allah when I go to him..
Thank You, It touches my heart to see the concern and pain you feel as its your own….I wish I could take that action and so wish all the parents of that Indian school also take progressive action and put their foot down. It seems far fetched , but we can only hope and pray.
My heartful prayers goes out to all the parents facing difficulties and have experienced loss of their young ones or abuse in any form. Allah Bless you for your kind thoughts ,concern for everyone :)
I’m not a parent, and the only gauge that I have to wonder how this poor girl’s parents feel is my imagination. Allow me to say this, though. Ali, your call for more government involvement in this is, at best, misguided and at worst, pointless. Look around you. How effective are the day-to-day workings of the state authorities? How often can the rules be circumvented by friends, connections, influence aka good ol’ Vitamin W? Do people’s loyalties lie with the state and society at large, or are they more immediately concerned for themselves and their close relatives? The institutions of the state are overflowing with weak-willed, clock-watching individuals who would prefer to lead an easy life rather than to confront the many infuriating inefficiencies and misinformation that passes for government here. Many defer to their superiors rather than taking responsibility for their own decisions.
The worst of all is that this attitude is highly infectious. Westerners earn their big salaries and retreat to hide in their compounds; Asian managers grind through the long days and crawl home to sleep; manual labourers scratch around in the blazing sun and collapse on top of each other in overcrowded rooms. Nobody really cares too much. The whole machine chugs on, barely functioning.
I disagree, too, with your call to lock up the school management and the parents. Come on! What will it achieve? Do you honestly think this was anything but an accident? It was the inevitable result of lazy decisions, made by poor managers, in difficult circumstances. These private bus drivers are merely at the bottom of this particular food chain; they were left with the problem, because nobody else wanted to face up to it: a simple problem, really: how do I get my child to school on time?
Think about it. This school has 16,000 students. 13,000 of them can’t get to school without taking the risk of jumping in an unlicensed minivan. There were warnings of negligence from the past: kids get left behind at school, kids get injured or die in avoidable accidents… but everyone involved needs to realize just one thing: by making a simple decision and sticking with it, nothing like this need every happen again.
It is the school’s obligation to check: a) that all buses arrive at fixed, staggered schedules; b) that all buses conform to normal conditions of road-worthiness, on a regular basis; c) that all drivers are properly licensed, on a regular basis; d) that all buses are fitted with seatbelts, which are used; e) to inform parents when private bus drivers break these rules; f) to call parents when a child is absent to check where s/he is.
It is the parents’ obligation to: a) inform the school when a child will be absent; b) to report any poor service to the school; c) to insist to their own children that they they wear seatbelts and behave courteously to the drivers.
It is the children’s obligation to: a) wear seatbelts and behave well to each other and to the drivers; b) inform their parents of any dangerous, incourteous, or plain stupid driving; c) to look out for each other.
I wonder if any of this will ever happen, though. Will anyone have the guts to do something without waiting for an inefficient state to write some new rules which nobody follows? Will they have the guts to DEMAND it, instead of meekly accepting the status quo? I hope I’m wrong. At least then this little girl’s death will not have been in vain.
My logic is this:
Private bus drivers are doing it for money. Make them change or stop them in their tracks. They will change.
The school is exists for money. Make them change or stop sending your kid there. They will change.
The parents are sending their kids to school on these buses to save themselves money now, and for their kids’ futures. Act together. Refuse to accept anything less than what you all agree on. Change will come, and sooner than you think.
“The worst of all is that this attitude is highly infectious. Westerners earn their big salaries and retreat to hide in their compounds; Asian managers grind through the long days and crawl home to sleep; manual labourers scratch around in the blazing sun and collapse on top of each other in overcrowded rooms. Nobody really cares too much. The whole machine chugs on, barely functioning.”
This is the exact scenerio and i loved the way you put it .
The government Has to set guidelines. As you have beautifully defined the machine of society: no one really cares enough for a decision or action to be uniform. If 1000 parents take a positive action, 12000 others will still do the opposite. System has created a lazy, careless society with every community thinking of “me and mine”!
Many may even find my pain for this child as ridiculous, while others will tell me , its destiny.
Locking up the parents and jailing school management was my reaction, anger. But , we all know that in some countries this would be a possibility.
The government has to set guidelines and fines and checks. This is a society that responds only to that.
There are 3000 buses operating in just the eastern province and there are no laws for it? Absurd.
Private vans, I mean