Dubai: A sign language team from Dubai Police helped reunite an autistic child with his parents at Expo 2020 Dubai.
Sergeant Mohammed Al Hajaji from Dubai Police said the boy was lost with his eight-year-old sister, but the team managed to trace them in 30 minutes.
“The parents sought our help while we were at the site. We found the children quickly by identifying the colour of the boy’s shirt. The boy and his sister were reunited with their parents,” said Al Hajaji.
In another incident, the team that welcomed visitors with American Sign Language (ASL) helped a child with down syndrome who was searching for his family. “He was lost and sought our help. We calmed him down, searched for his father and handed the child over to him,” added Al Hajaji.
Dubai Police’s sign language team is going all out to ensure that people of determination visiting Expo 2020 Dubai feel safe and are welcome to the mega event.
Man who forgot where his car was parked
Al Hajaji said that a person with hearing impairment had rented a car to visit Expo 2020 Dubai, but forgot the location where the car was parked and sought help from the police. “He forgot where he had parked the car. We communicated with him through sign language as he didn’t remember the plate number of the vehicle. We formed a team, in cooperation with the Traffic Department, and traced the car. He was very happy and thankful,” said Al Hajaji.
In another incident, an Arab visitor with visual and speech impairment was welcomed by the Dubai Police sign language team and he communicated with them through sign language. “We wanted him to be happy. We communicated with him by touching his palm. It is a professional way to communicate with his category of people. We took him to his country’s pavilion and explained its surroundings to him,” added Al Hajaji.
Fulfilling a wish
The sign language team also helped fulfil the wish of a person of determination who wanted to meet an Emirati singer while the artist was performing at the mega event.
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“We saw him going to the concert of Eida Al Menhali. We asked him if he needed any help and he said that his wish was to meet Al Menhali. We spoke with the team of Al Menhali and fulfilled the man’s wish by helping him meet the singer and take pictures with him,” said Al Hajaji.
