I shall live on their memories: Mother who lost all 7 children in Fujairah fire

News Network
January 27, 2018

A mother has been left devastated after she lost all her children on a single tragic night at Rol Didana area in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Salima Al Suraidi’s seven children aged between five and 13 years suffocated to death in the wee hours of last Monday (January 22) as a fire broke out at their villa.

In response to a call from the Ras Al Khaimah Sports and Cultural Club, mothers, grandmothers and educators have offered condolences to the distressed mother. The agonised mother, in her thirties, said she could do nothing but accept her fate and surrender to her destiny. "To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return," she said. "I shall live on their memories, and recall their words in which they were bidding her farewell."

They used to tell me that they wish to join their late father who died because of a serious chronic disease five years ago, she added. The twins I gave birth to one month after their father's death were talking about their father on their last day just hours before their sorrowful demise, she said.

"They grew up fast," she said. "I have been everything for them; their father, mother and friend."

One of Al Saridi's sisters was saying that her story and struggling in life deserves to be narrated. "This is because of the so many hardships and challenges I have been through on my own.

"The only one who was supporting and comforting me were my kids. Though I am trying to be patient, my mother does not stop crying over their loss and that is what I cannot take and tears my heart."

Al Saridi thanked the prudent leadership for their support and attempt to comfort her and ease her suffering. "On top of these are the instructions of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to implement fire safety procedures and smoke detectors so that such tragic incidents do not take place."

Hesa Said, deputy president of the RAK Sports and Cultural Club, said their call to offer condolences to the mother was the least thing they can do. "This visit to the mother has had a significant positive impact on her. The members of the club spare no effort to enhance the social relationships among the members of the society."

'They kissed me and went to bed'

Recalling the fateful night, when she told her children to get to bed, Salima Al Suraidi said: “They kissed me and went to bed. A moment later, my son Ahmad came to remind me that I had not said the daily ‘dua’ of ‘May Allah bless you and keep you safe’. I smiled and said the ‘dua’ after which they went to sleep. The room’s door was left open by them because my 13-year-old son, Khalifa, was afraid of darkness and the open door allows light to filter in.”

After her sons went to sleep, Salima retired to her room, along with her daughters, and took her medication before going to bed.

“I went to bed at 11pm but a little after midnight, I woke up as my twin daughters, Sumaiya and Sara, were awake as they were suffering from flu and cough and were getting fitful sleep. I applied some ointment and olive oil to help them get some relief and they went back to sleep.”
Soon, Salima fell into a deep sleep due to her medication (which she had been taking after she underwent an operation).

3:45a.m.

“At 3.45am, I woke up as I was having difficulty in breathing. The room was pitch dark. So I switched on my mobile phone light and saw my daughter Shouk, who was sleeping next to me, with a fixed stare, unmoving.

"I went to my twin daughters Sumaiya and Sara and found them dead. I then went to my daughter Shaikha who was sleeping next to her sister in the same room to find her breathing her last.

“I then rushed to the other room where my three sons slept to find my sons Khalifa and Ahmad dead, but Ali was still fighting for his life. He walked to the living room where he fell unconscious and died.”

Salima said that she was pouring water on her two children Ali and Shaikha who were still alive at that time in a desperate bid to save them but her attempt was in vain.

“I tried to revive them but I did not succeed.”

Call for help

Going nearly mad with shock and grief, Salima said she ran to the door of the hall, managed to open it after several attempts and cried out for help to the maid and then ran to call for her brother Rashid’s help.

“I felt myself losing control. I had pain in my chest because of the smoke. My brother rushed to my house and by then a thick smoke had engulfed the house. He covered his face with his ghotra (headdress) as he tried to save my children but they had already died of suffocation.” said Salima.

Her brother called the police and ambulance services.

Salima said that her sons had been doing well at school, were polite boys and always participated in school activities. Her eldest daughter, Shouk, liked poetic verses.

Salima thanked the UAE leadership for their care and support which has soothed her traumatised heart.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, ordered to provide all necessary care and support for the grieving mother.

Salima prays for the souls of her children every day, asking Almighty Allah to keep her children in his mercy and grant them heaven as well as provide her with patience to endure her loss.

She thanked all UAE people for their support and concern which has provided her the much-needed succour.

Comments

Mohammed
 - 
Monday, 29 Jan 2018

May Almighty ALLAH give Sabur to the Mother & Save Entire family from hell fire. Ya Rabb please forgive all our sins !! Aameen Ya Rabb !!!

ABDUL AZIZ SHE…
 - 
Saturday, 27 Jan 2018

INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHI RAJIVOON

I deeply express my hearthfelt condonlences to the mothe of 7 children 

May Allah Subanawataala give her Sabar to bear the biggest lose in her life.

Allahumma Aameen 

Allah Almighty knows better

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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Arab News
March 21,2020

Jeddah, Mar 21: Saudi government ministers on Friday announced a war chest of more than SR120 billion ($32 billion) to fight the “unprecedented” health and economic challenges facing the country as a result of the killer coronavirus pandemic.

During a press conference in Riyadh, finance minister and acting minister of economy and planning, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, unveiled a SR70 billion stimulus package to support the private sector, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses worst-hit by the virus outbreak.

And the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has also sidelined SR50 billion to help the Kingdom’s banking sector, financial institutions and SMEs.

Al-Jadaan said the government had introduced tough measures to protect the country’s citizens while immediately putting in place a financial safety net. He added that the Kingdom was moving decisively to address the global COVID-19 disease crisis and cushion the financial and economic impact of the outbreak on the country.

The SR70 billion package of initiatives revealed by the minister will include exemptions and postponement of some government dues to help provide liquidity for private-sector companies.

Minister of Health Dr. Tawfig Al-Rabiah noted the raft of precautionary measures that had been introduced by the Kingdom in cooperation with the private sector and government agencies to combat the spread of the coronavirus, highlighting the important contribution of the data communication services sector.

He reassured the Saudi public that the Kingdom would continue to do whatever was required to tackle the crisis.

“This pandemic has a lot of challenges. It’s difficult to make presumptions at this moment as we’ve seen; many developed countries did not expect the rate of transmission of this virus.

“We see that the reality of the situation is different from what many expected. The virus is still being studied and though we know the means of transmission, it is transmitted at a very fast rate, having spread to many countries faster than expected.

“We see that many countries have not taken the strong precautionary measures from the beginning of the crisis which led to the vast spread of the virus in these countries,” Al-Rabiah said.

He pointed out that social distancing would help slow the spread.

Al-Jadaan said the Saudi government had the financial and economic capacity to deal with the situation. “We have large reserves and large investments, but we do not want to withdraw from the reserves more than what was already announced in the budget. We do not want to liquidate any of the government’s investments so we will borrow.

“We have approval from the government after the finance committee raised its recommendations to increase the proportion of the domestic product borrowing from 30 percent to 50 percent. We do not expect to exceed 50 percent from now until the end of 2022,” he added.

The government would use all the tools available to it to finance the private sector, especially SMEs, and ensure its ongoing stability.

The finance minister said that at this stage it was difficult to predict the economic impact of the pandemic on the private sector, but he emphasized that international coordination, most notably through G20 countries and health organizations, was ongoing.

On recorded cases of the COVID-19 disease in the Kingdom, Al-Rabiah said: “Many of the confirmed cases are without symptoms, this is due to the precautionary measures being considered.

“As soon as a case is confirmed, we contact and examine anyone who was in direct contact with the patient. This epidemiological investigation, is conducted on a large scale to investigate any case that was in contact with the patient.”

Al-Jadaan also announced the formation of a committee made up of the ministers of finance, economy and planning, commerce, and industry and mineral resources, along with the vice chairman of the board of the Saudi National Development Fund, and its governor.

The committee will be responsible for identifying and reviewing incentives, facilities, and other initiatives led by the fund.

Committees had also been established, said Al-Jadaan, to study the impact and repercussions of the coronavirus crisis on all sectors and regions, and look at ways of overcoming them through subsidies or stimulus packages.

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News Network
February 1,2020

New Delhi, Feb 1: Activist Sharjeel Imam's mobile phone and laptop along with some anti-CAA posters have been seized from his house in Bihar's Jehanabad and rented flat in Vasant Kunj, police said on Friday.

Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police's Crime Branch from Jehanabad in a sedition case and he is being questioned by police for his alleged inflammatory speeches in Aligarh and at the Jamia Millia Islamia University here.

During investigation, a laptop and a desktop belonging to Imam were recovered from his rented flat at Vasant Kunj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Deo said.

His mobile phone was recovered from his house at his native place in Jehanabad's Kako area on the instance of his brother, he said.

Imam had prepared anti-CAA and anti-NRC pamphlets with "misleading and intimidating facts" and then distributed them in various mosques, the copy of which have been recovered, police said.

The shop from where he made photocopies of the pamphlets has also been identified, they added.

Imam was arrested on Tuesday. He was brought to Delhi on Wednesday and produced at the residence of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak in the evening amid tight security after which police were granted his five-day custody.

The PhD scholar at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies has been booked for sedition and other charges in several states after videos of his alleged inflammatory speeches, made during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), were circulated on the social media.

An FIR was registered against Imam by the Delhi Police on January 25 under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153A (promoting or attempting to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever) among others.

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