New children’s campaign against ‘bad friends’ gets under way

Dubai: Officials are raising children’s awareness on the dangers of “bad friends” in a new campaign.

The campaign called ‘No to Bad Company’ has been launched by the Juvenile Awareness and Care Association at Dubai Police in cooperation with Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai (IACAD)

Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander- in- Chief of Dubai Police, said it is important to spread awareness among youngsters so they can avoid getting involved in deviant behaviour and criminal activities.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign yesterday, he said they would not only highlight the effects of bad company and how to avoid bad friends but also educate youngsters on how to select good friends.

The move comes as part of the Dubai Police programme to combat drug addiction..

“The campaign is part of police efforts to protect children and police will also work on social media, TVs and newspapers to raise the awareness among children to stay away from bad company,” said Lieutenant General Dahi.

He said Dubai Police are trying to help youngsters understand the difference between good and bad friends from an early age.

Aisha Al Kash, IACAD’s Head of Edification and Religious Guidance Department, said: “The department’s participation was through the Global Islamic Culture Project under the slogan ‘My Islam My Identity’. This participation came under the goal of establishing partnerships with the community’s entities, which aim to increase awareness about the serious effect of bad friends on individuals and society, and about the important guiding role of parents in helping their children choose good friends.”

Project supervisor Eman Abdullah said the department presented two lectures on the topic at Al Ebdaa School, delivered by IACAD researcher Dr Abdul Quddous Al Samarai.

Dr Al Samarai emphasised the importance of communication between parents and children to learn about their way of thinking and to provide better guidance.