Sharjah: Often during difficult family times, talking with parents and close relatives can be extremely comforting for children trying to cope with the temporary absence of a loved one.
With that view in mind, children of inmates can now chat up close and personal with their parents who are serving time in Sharjah Rehabilitation and Punitive Centre through a new video chat service introduced by Sharjah Social Services Department.
The electronic service was launched in cooperation with Sharjah Police, Sharjah Rehabilitation and Punitive Centre and Sharjah Family Court to keep communication lines open between children and their incarcerated parents.
The new service also nixes the need for children to visit a jail setting which can be extremely unsettling for young minds.
Afaf Al Merri, director-general of Sharjah Social Services Department, said the video chat system was created as part of the UAE Innovation Month and will help keep families connected in times of adversity.
Al Merri said the new project will help “strengthen family ties and contribute to support family cohesion in various circumstances facing the family, thus providing the right atmosphere for children to enjoy the advice of parents through communication that enhances the cohesion of family members in the difficult circumstances experienced by one of the parents”.
She noted that the new video service help authorities “work as a social body keen to strengthen family cohesion and reduce the negative effects on families from exposure to calamities”.
Salim Ali Al Hosani, chairman of the Sharjah Sharia Court and chairman of the Committee for the Care for Children Deprived of Social Care, stressed the importance of the system, especially in cases where children want to connect with their parents directly, especially when they are sick or in difficult situations.
The system is intended to bolster the relationship and association between a child and his or her parents through direct visual communication.
The Ministry of Justice is implementing the directives of the minister, he said.
Al Merri thanked Sharjah Police Commander-in-Chief Major-General Saif Al Ziri Al Shamsi and director-general of Sharjah Rehabilitation and Punitive Centre Colonel Ahmad Suhail, for their cooperation in implementing the project and for helping to create a family atmosphere which is suitable for children and their parents.
Nine cities linked to the system
Ahmad Al Tartour, member of the Child Protection Committee, said that the new video system has been linked through nine branches of the Social Services Department in Sharjah including:
Sharjah City
Al Hamriya
Al Dhaid
Al Bata’aeh
Al Madam
Dibba Al Hisn
Maliha
Kalba
Khor Fakkan
