UAE | General

Children face ban in Ajman webcafes

Children below 18-years will no longer be allowed at internet cafes in Ajman, police said.

  • By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:01 November 12, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
  • Ajman Police say they are carrying out an intensive campaign against cybercafes following a decision by the municipality to ban children under 18 from such places.

Ajman: Children below 18-years will no longer be allowed at internet cafes in Ajman, police said.

Brigadier Ali Abdullah Alwan, Chief of Ajman police, told Gulf News on Tuesday that banning children in internet cafes is a step taken in co-operation with Ajman Municipality.

Brigadier Alwan said internet cafes must follow the rules, which have been in place since last month. The police are now determined to take stringent measures after complaints from parents.

"We are running intensive campaigns against all internet cafes to be sure that they are comply with the law," he said. Police officers will inspect these cafes to ensure that they follow the rules.

"Any cybercafe which will allow children under 18 will face severe penalty starting from seizure of computers and play stations used by children at the cafes to the closure of the cafe," he said.

"Such places are not for small kids. We will keep an open eye on all the internet cafes here," Brig Alwan said.

"We are implementing the rule strictly and have already closed a number of internet cafes for violating this rule and allowing children to watch adult-rated movies," he said.

He said there is no control on the movies being watched in the cybercafes or on the games.

"Smoking is still allowed in Ajman cafes, which make it unhealthy place for children. There are a lot of illegal practices inside those cafes," he warned.

Closing time

Brig Alwan said in the past, cybercafes in Ajman were allowed to remain open round-the-clock but now they will be allowed till 2am only.

"A circular has been issued by the municipality that bans children from using such places. Our role as police will be to make sure that the rules are followed," he said.

In Sharjah, children are allowed till 11pm at cybercafes. However, police in Sharjah have banned all cybercafes from using tinted windows.

Smoking at cybercafes in Sharjah and Dubai is prohibited.

Alwan warned that it is also the responsibility of the parents to monitor their children if they go to such places during prohibited hours.

"Parents should not allow their children to enter such places as people have been found smoking and watching 'adult' movies. There have been incidents of fights amongst youngsters who end up in police stations," warned the police official.

Last year in Sharjah, two boys at a cybercafe fought over who will play first and one of the children hit the other on his face. The victim died on spot.

Cybercafe operators say they are still unaware of the new rules. Dawood, who runs the Windows cybercafe' in Al Majaz area in Sharjah, said that he does not have any information about banning children from such places.

"We have children who enter the cafe who are so young. Some are only one or two years old. They come with their brothers and sisters," he said.

Dawood said there are boys and girls who come here and they usually come for chat or checking their e-mails.

"I do not allow children to watch adult-rated movies or website," he said.

Decision welcomed

Parents have welcomed the move by Ajman Municipality on banning children from cybercafes and said proper regulations should be in place to make such places more friendly for children.

Shani, a mother of two from India said she live in Ajman in an area where there are more than five cybercafes next to each other.

"My children, aged 12 and 14, used to spend most of their time in one of these cafes. When they came home, they smelt like smokers," she said.

Shani said two days ago her son went there but he was not allowed to enter. "I used to ask myself why the government will not ban children from entering such places. It is dangerous and no one knows what is going inside," she said.

Sana, a mother of five from Iraq, said there should be tight control from authorities on such places."Children under 18 should not be allowed to enter such places. We can not totally control on our kids since some parents allow their children there," she said.

Do you think internet cafes are fit for children? Why? Would you prefer your child to use internet at home instead of cafes? How can surfing be regulated to ensure safety? Fill in the form bellow to send your comments.

Your comments


I really appreciate the move by the authorities regarding the internet usage by children in the cyber cafes. However, in this day and age, where a majority of schools expect children to present computer or internet-related homework, some parents and children find it useful to go to these cafes. Therefore, I request the authorities to allow such children access to these places with adult supervision.
Zainab
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 10:32

This is good decision by the Ajman Authorities. It also opens up business opportunities for ?children only' gaming and internet arcades with safe internet surfing.
Charles
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 10:30

Ajman has a problem if it treats Internet cafes as places of vice. I cannot believe that in this day and age the authorities actually feel the need to keep children away from Internet cafes.
Abdulelah Dandachi
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 09:34

I think the authorities have taken a good step in making this decision. This rule should be implemented in every emirate. My brother used come from school and go to an internet café and play games until night time. These days he even started smoking with his friends. I hope the Abu Dhabi authorities would also take these steps for under 18 children.
Nazrul Islam
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 09:27

I usually go to internet cafes in Ajman and I get shocked when I see what the children do there. They play extremely violent games that show women dressed improperly. Even if the children control themselves and behave well their neighbour, who might even be an adult, would watch an indecent movie and would not care of the children next to him. Instead of banning children from cafes, why not make a special area that has censored internet and decent games? I think that would be better for the business and for the children who do school-related projects.
Bint
Ajman,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:55

I appreciate the good work done by the Ajman authorities on banning children under the age of 18 from entering webcafes. I hope they step up the operation. They should even ban smoking in public places like other emirates have done. All applauds to the authorities in taking these steps help our children.
Richard Wilson
Ajman,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:41

I think this is a good move made by the Ajman authorities. This same rule should be made all over the emirates. The person in charge of the internet café should make a regular round to see what children are surfing. If that person has some software that censors indecent websites then it would be well and good.
Boney Bersleebi
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:39

We must not allow our children to browse the internet in webcafes. In the house we can set some time for them to browse certain web sites that are useful for their studies, anything related to their syllabus, or any good articles that provide moral education to our children. But these we can see girls and boys below the age of18 years without any restriction going to webcafes and browsing so many sites that are there to divert their studies, which will spoil their character. Working parents cannot control all these things. So I happily welcome the new rule by the authorities. It is a boon to all parents.
Jayavenkatesh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:35

This is really good for both the children and the parents. In the same way, smoking should also be banned from such places because non-smokers are also breathing the same air and being affected.
Radha
Ajman,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:18

When I was in Ajman I used to see a lot of children in webcafes, usually watching wrestling shows and playing games. Due to this, their growing minds learn to get used to such violence.
Mahesh
Dubai,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:16

What difference does it make to restrain children below the age of 18 from going to a webcafe, fearing they might watch adult movies? Webcafes are not the only places children can get these things from. These are widely circulated via CD's, DVD's and even on mobile phones among their friends and peer groups in a school. Does this mean children should stop attending schools?
Hamriya Abdul Rahman
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 08:12

I agree 100 per cent that children should not be allowed to use the internet in webcafes. It would also be good if the cafes were split between internet for adult and internet for children.
Fenny Fatimah
Ras Al Khaimah,UAE
Posted: November 12, 2008, 06:59

Internet is a very informative tool and yet dangerous. Instead of banning the children from using it, the computers must be fitted with parental control software. Secondly, if there are illegal things going on, why not curb that first?
Karan Bhatia
Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Posted: November 12, 2008, 04:17

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