Family's beach outing turns into a nightmare
Dubai: An outing at the beach during Eid holidays became a nightmarish incident for Indian expatriate Mathew Thomas and his family when his four-year-old son burnt his feet as he stamped on burning coals left by some unknown beachgoers covered by a thin layer of sand.
The accident has left four-year-old Samarth with second degree burns on his left foot and minor injuries in the right one.
"We went with a group of our friends to beach near Mamzar Park and children started to play. Suddenly I heard my son's screams and saw him writhing in pain with burning coal stuck to his feet. Someone had left the burning coal covered by a thin layer of sand. We immediately rushed the child to the hospital and he has sustained second degree burns and is in a lot of pain. He needs to be carried around and would take a few weeks to heal," Thomas said.
Distressed
Article continues below
"I am distressed by such carelessness of people who did not even give a thought to the consequence their action could have. People should be careful and I feel parents also should be careful and not let their children walk barefoot. Clear instructions on disposal of barbeque ashes should also be displayed prominently so that people are aware, I would not wish to see anyone undergo such an incident," said Mona, the child's mother.
Beach cleanup campaigns across the UAE have found beverage cans, glass and plastic bottles, cigarette butts and food wrappers in high quantities.
"It is such a shame that people litter at public parks and beaches. Last week a sharp object poked into my foot while I was walking around the beach area and I realised it was the sharp edge of a metal bottle cap. It is not only unpleasant to look at waste spread around but can be very dangerous as well," said Ganesh Tayade, a fitness trainer. The authorities have been trying to generate awareness among general public about Local Order No 11 of 2003 concerning Public Health and Community Safety, which also covers public parks, in the Emirate of Dubai. Fines for violations can start from Dh100 and go up to Dh100,000. Municipality has urged people to properly dispose of their waste for convenience of all other visitors to parks and beaches or face fines.
Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of Emirates Environment Group, said: "During our cleanup campaigns we find broken glass, cigarettes butts, food wrappers and a lot of other stuff. This approach which some people have of caring only about their own enjoyment is doing them no good. We should realise that the first thing which attracted us to a park or a beach is its beauty and cleanliness and we should leave it in such a way that we are able to go to revisit that place and others too are able to enjoy it."
Why should the Ministry have to take steps? Although if it comes down to it, maybe they will.
But shouldn't it be down to the individuals or groups using the beach to show a bit of respect and clear up their crap once they've finished at the beach?
How difficult is it to pick up your bottles, chicken bones and food wrappers, place it in a bag and put the whole lot in a bin?
Are people really so stupid as to thing that the sea will "clear up" all the litter left on the beaches?
What kind of example are these people setting for their children?
It saddens me.
Necessary steps has to be taken by Ministry of Envoirnment !
Life.....You certainly Rock.. :-)
I totally disagree with some members stating one should not walk bare feet in the beech..... u cant wear shoes and slippers while playing in the beech sand..... its easy to comment sitting in ur chair but once u actually go out in the beech, u know how it is...... its like going to a chocolate factory and not given a sample chocolates to taste !!!
and whats so surprising to have a name Mathew Thomas in India....? There are so many english - Christian names of people in India!
Indian expatriate Mathew Thomas??
But thank God the child is smiling.. :-)
Hope the little boy gets better soon....some people are selfish or just plain lazy
Strongly objectionable. Peoples should think for others...
Now I feel good about splashing water over those coals in Wakra beach after our BBQ got over..Everyone else in the group thought I was stupid and overcautious....
Moral lesson :- Never allow the children ( even elders )
to walk barefoot along the beach sand, its vulnerable.
The simple thing to do is to put fines, heavy ones on littering. and then enforce those fines.
I am surprised this has not been done yet, as a lot of money could be made from it...obviously.
As a parent, I am very sorry for what had happened to his son, it was indeed a very sad experience.
Britexpat is right, stupid are those who don't care what might happen to the stupidity they did.
This is a terrible story but the cause is all too familiar.
It makes me sick the amount of rubbish and litter people leave here. People have picnics on the beach and leave rubbish everywhere, expecting the sea to clear it up. It's disgusting. Put it in a bag, take it home and put it in your dustbin. People even do it at Wakra where there are enormous dumpsters in the car park for litter.
It just shows a complete lack of respect for this country.
Poor thing. The stupidity of some leads to misery for others :O(