A few days ago, all of Bahrain was shocked by painful news: a young child lost his life on the school bus! A tragedy that shook everyone, and we all know that it is not the first incident of its kind, but we hope from deep within our hearts that it will be the last, with God’s help.
In order for these tragedies not to be repeated, the efforts of everyone – the state, society, schools, and parents – must come together to put a final end to such disasters that suffocate our souls with sadness every time.
But first, we must be fair in our judgments. In such painful accidents, it is not right to hold the bus driver fully responsible, or to place him in the category of a criminal.
That person would not have done what he did if he had known what fate had in store, and he had nothing in his heart except to return to his home as he returns every day. The incident is a painful fate, but it is also a message, and an occasion to review our systems and procedures.
Here I would like to point to an experience in the United Arab Emirates in this field, a pioneering experience that deserves praise and contemplation. The state has harnessed all its capabilities to ensure the highest levels of safety for students through a smart and integrated system.
The most prominent of which is the “My Bus” application, which is an electronic application that links the school, the guardian, and the bus. As soon as the student gets on the bus, an immediate notification arrives on the guardian’s phone, and he can track the progress of the bus moment by moment.
When the student arrives at school, another notification comes confirming his safe arrival, and this is repeated when he returns home. The system even sends an alert if the student misses going up in the morning or returning in the afternoon, ensuring accurate and continuous communication between the school and the family.
The matter is not limited to that, as there are strict laws implemented by the security authorities in the Emirates, including that when the bus stops and the “Stop” sign is raised on the side, it is strictly forbidden to overtake the bus, because stopping it means that a child may cross the road.
The violation here is not simple, but is faced with severe penalties, because children’s lives are not a place to be risky or reckless.
From this standpoint, I turn to His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education, who has proven during his years of leadership of the Ministry that he is one of the figures who believes in development and embraces positive change.
I personally hope that he will study the Emirati experience – or any similar experience – and benefit from it in a way that achieves greater safety for our sons and daughters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Every child in Bahrain is a child of all of us, and every hand that extends to protect him, or contributes to ensuring his safety, is a hand that builds, saves, and promises good for this country. Because nations are measured by the extent to which they preserve their small innocence before their great achievements.
There is a child on the bus.. so let us not let him out of our sight.
