Eight-year-old Obaida Ebrahim’s death has shocked and stunned the nation. The sheer venality of the crime, wherein an innocent boy was lured into trust by an adult male posing as his well-wisher and then sexually assaulted and strangulated him, has left everyone shaken to the core.
This incident compels us to once again confront the reality of just how vulnerable children are to diabolical forces and how absolutely critical parental vigilance is in combating these forces. In modern times, when families have gone nuclear, and support systems and safety measures provided by extended family and neighbourhood networks have ended up largely as a sociocultural footnote, the responsibility of ensuring the security of children has acquired exponentially larger proportions for parents. This new reality has made their task grittier, more immediate and more risk-prone as they have to work doubly hard to keep their children from being exposed to the underbelly of society.
The modern advisory of caution every parent is expected to share with their child — don’t talk to strangers, don’t wander off alone, do not allow anyone to touch you inappropriately — is akin to building a moat around a child’s fortress of self that cuts off the approach of evil forces. As parents move with hurried strides between their various roles, there is a possibility that this tale of caution — an indispensable self-defensive mechanism for a child — may not be ingrained in the child’s mind with the regularity it requires.
While the authorities are doing their best to ensure the safety and security of all in the UAE, the net needs to be tightened further to disallow individuals, such as the 48-year-old man who committed this dastardly act, to mingle with mainstream society.
