Justice knows no winners

So the verdict in the most talked about "French rape case" is out.

The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced two Emiratis to 15 years in jail for sodomising a 15-year-old Swiss–French boy on July 14 this year.

Unfortunately, in my opinion both sides lost.

While we feel the pain of Alexandre and his family there are also the families of the accused who have fallen victim to the pain of guilt and shame.

It is precisely to highlight the plight of families on both sides of the coin that we at XPRESS decided that talking to the families of the accused would be doing things right (our cover story).

It is natural for human beings to root for the victim. They are victims of violence and abuse and must be protected by society and the law along with their kith and kin.

In any criminal case, in any part of the world, most of us read about the accused and feel no sympathy.

We are probably right. Justice must be done and most of the time it is served.

But, let's not forget to sympathise with the families of the accused.

My heart especially goes out to the mothers of these young men who must forever agonise over where they went wrong in the upbringing of their little boys, what they could have done to raise them better and forever feeling that it is "all my fault".

Having lived in the Gulf region a long time, and as a mother of a young man, I would like to say to all mothers who suffer either because their children are victimised or are the perpetrators; "Have courage".

Unhappy mothers

The sentencing to 15 years in jail of the two adult men – the juvenile defendant was tried and convicted in a juvenile court – in the case, has served justice but in my opinion has made all four mothers (including the mother of the victim) unhappy.

One mother probably believes that 15 years is not enough for her boy's suffering and the other mothers must live for the rest of their lives with the shame and loss of family honour with their heads forever low.

Nirmala Janssen
Editor@alnisrmedia.com
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