Dubai: For many it is hard to even contemplate the idea of someone abandoning their newborn baby.

However, just as in every society, some parents cannot cope with the idea of bringing a child into the world and leave it to a social system to step in, in their absence.

In Dubai a mechanism is in place to deal with this very issue. Known simply as “Ward 16'' of Al Wasl Hospital, the facility looks after and cares for children of “unknown parents'' until such time as they find homes.

“Babies are brought to the hospital after being found by the police, and their health is checked, before the child is admitted to the paediatric ward and the case is investigated,'' social worker Anoud Al Muhairi explained.

“When we come to the conclusion that everything is fine, we transfer the child to Ward 16 — the ward for children of unknown parents.''

According to the social workers, the ward never has more than 12 children, both boys and girls. Some families opt to foster the children because they cannot conceive, while others already have children, but feel an obligation to take care of others as well.

“Families come here and apply to become legal-foster parents. Mostly we select those who cannot have children. The procedure is for them to write a letter to the Director-General, with an explanation about their situation and why they would like the child,'' said Anoud.

“Mostly the parents simply have to see the children and they know immediately which one they would like to take into their family.''

Anoud explains a process that includes a “very thorough study'' of the family and their home environment. The social workers then compile a report on the prospective family and the file is submitted to the hospital's director-general for consideration.

“We as the social workers simply give recommendations,'' social worker Badriya Yousuf said.

“We see their real lives and describe everything about them. It is not easy to give a recommendation. On average it takes approximately 2-3 months, but sometimes more.''

However, the process does not end there, with the social workers continuing to follow up for a number of years after the legal fostering process has been completed.

Qadi Al Murooshid, Director General of the Department of Health and Medical Services in Dubai, described the programme as “very successful'' with some of the first children to be fostered now married.

“The main issue is to secure the children's futures, so that he or she will have his own life in the future.''

He gives meaning to my life, says foster mum

Fatima (name changed to protect identity), 49, an unmarried UAE national doctor: “I took in a foster child, a boy who was abandoned by his parents and left near a mosque in Sharjah five years ago.

“When I first saw him, I knew that I wanted to help him and I used to go and visit him a lot before he officially became my son. My family strongly encouraged me to take care of the child. It is also our responsibility as Muslims to do this. Eventually I want to be the one who tells my son about his background. He is a wonderful boy and he gives meaning to my life. I am planning to also foster another child soon and I would encourage others to do the same.''

Taking care of the abandoned

A stringent set of rules and regulations exists in Islamic countries governing the treatment of abandoned children, prominent Islamic scholar Dr Ahmad Al Qubaisi said.

“In Arabic, children abandoned by their parent or parents for whatever reason, are known as laqeet which literally means ‘to pick up a child from death' — one of the holy acts for a Muslim,'' Al Qubaisi told Gulf News.

“It means that you are saving a soul from death and it is your responsibility.''

In the Islamic tradition, orphans, or yateem, are those whose parents are known, but either the father or both parents are deceased. Moreover, taking care of laqeet is deemed to be more holy, because yateem have families to take care of them.

According to Al Qubaisi, the entire system rests on the importance of the family name in the Muslim world.

“In pre-Islamic times adoption was common and the child would take the name of the new family and was considered to be a birth child,'' he explained.

“However, after the advent of Islam, this was abandoned as the Quran said that each child should have the name of their original father, because the main social base in Islam is the credibility of ancestry.

“Thus adoption was replaced by fostering a child (kafala) … This is considered to be a form of great worship in Islam.''

What the Hadeeth and Quran say

Hadeeth (sayings of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) 137.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless Him and grant Him peace, said, “The best house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are well treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are ill treated. I and the guardian of the orphan will be in the Garden like that,'' indicating his two fingers.

Quran says

Surat Al Baqara, aya 83. Worship none but Allah. Treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and give zakat.

Tradition encourages fostering the orphaned

Islamic tradition and the legal system have long encouraged the fostering of orphaned and abandoned children, as well as providing them with legal protection, Mohammad Bin Nakhira Al Daheri, UAE Minister of Justice, said.

“There are many people here in the UAE supporting orphaned and abandoned children, each of whom who should be given the best of everything and treated very well,'' he said. “The law regulates this issue to protect the children.''
UAE federal law provides for every aspect of the life of orphans and abandoned children and takes its influence from the Quran.

“Some abandoned children come into the world in bad circumstances, so Islam has a system to protect those children and gives them special care,'' Judge Jasem Mohammad Al Hosani, head of the Dubai Sharia Court, explained.

As per UAE law, laqeet is a child of unknown parentage, abandoned by their parents for reasons such as fear of poverty or reprisals for adultery, or because they have special needs.

According to Al Hosani, Sharia law compels those who find an abandoned child to “pick up the child and look for his parents.''

“In Islam, an abandoned child is a respectful soul and should be protected from any danger like hunger and destitution,'' he said. “If you find such a child, you must go to the authorities and inform them.''

In Dubai those people who find an abandoned child must go to the police to report the case. The Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) then launches an investigation to trace the father of the child, while the child is taken care of by social workers.

Al Hosani explained that if the parents cannot be found, then the case is transferred to the Public Prosecution and the official procedure for fostering the child commences. The Public Prosecution studies the applications and the case will be sent to the Sharia Court.