Men photographing kids, allege Dubai parents
A number of Dubai parents are complaining of their kids being photographed in the malls without the parents’ consent by two men allegedly posing as tourists.
According to postings on popular blogs, parents are complaining of these men approaching their children without their consent and clicking their pictures on the sly, which they believe is at least improper conduct if not downright illegal.
“Everything about these two men just felt wrong. For some reason, I noticed them the second they walked in [and] hovered around quietly observing children outside Toystore. It was as though they were pretending to be tourists. In the interest of warning other mothers, I shall attempt to describe them. Though hard to say I think they were of Eastern European origin, both in their 40s. One man was tall + slim (6,3ft or thereabouts) with darker brown hair peppered with grey, while the other was shorter, not so slim and with a rounder face wearing a rose coloured t-shirt. Both white but tanned [and] both had professional cameras - the type with zoom in lenses,” reads one post on expatwoman.com.
“I telephoned 901 to report the incident because I decided to trust my gut instinct that this was not innocent. I have in the past been more than happy to have my DS+DD held, talked to [and] even cuddled by friendly child loving strangers who have asked permission first. This was different though. The agent who picked up my 901 telephone call said he would report it to IBN Battuta Mall management [and] if I see them again to immediately report them,” the post further adds.
The matter doesn’t seem to be limited to Ibn Battuta mall. Reports of two men, trying to approach children are coming from other places as well.
Another mother on the same forum complained about her six-year-old daughter’s tennis friend being approached by two men in Dubai Silicon Oasis. “…one [was] in a car and the [second one] standing outside the car. They asked her if she wanted to see their kittens...fortunately, her parents had taught her well and she took off running. The police took this very seriously, but they are having problems catching them because a 6-year-old’sdescription is of course very inaccurate. All she could say was they were fair skinned,” it said.
“I have also heard reports of two Eastern European men taking photographs outside of school nearby a few months ago. They were approached by parents and they claim they had an appointment at the school about architecture. A few streetwise parents dragged them to the office, and the camera revealed photos of the children, yet the school just deleted the photos and shooed them away,” it added.
A mother who was shopping in Mall of the Emirates told this website that something similar happened to her last weekend. “I was shopping for jewellery in MoE when my husband was walking my one-year-old just outside the showroom in the mall. A few strangers – at least four – were passing by at that moment, and one of them just smiled and picked up my baby and another started clicking pictures with a cellphone,” she said, adding that it wasn’t the first time strangers had approached her kid in a mall and clicked pictures without specifically seeking her approval beforehand.
“I quietly took my baby back when she started crying, and the strangers moved on,” she said, adding that although she did give it a thought, she decided against approaching mall security on that occasion.
““The safety and security of our visitors is of paramount importance and we have a strong system of policies, guidelines and personnel in place to ensure maximum precautions are taken for the well-being of all our customers. There have not been any reports of such activity within the Mall of the Emirates at this time. However, should an incident occur, strict photography polices are in place that will ensure that steps are taken immediately to obstruct any explicit activity” Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, Asset Director, Mall of the Emirates told 'Emirates 24|7'.
Calls to Ibn Battuta Mall management remained unanswered.