The family of a SA teacher who died when a fire broke out at a mall in Doha, plans to sue Qatar authorities and the mall.
|||Cape Town - The family of a South African teacher who died when a fire broke out at the Villaggio Mall in Doha more than a year ago, plan to sue Qatari authorities and the mall for damages.
This follows the ruling of a Qatar court where five of the accused on trial since last year were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and given the maximum sentence of six years on June 20.
They are appealing.
Shameega Charles, 29, from Rocklands in Mitchells Plain and 15-month-old Umar Emeran, the son of a Cape Town-born couple, were among 19 people, including 13 children, who were killed in the blaze at the Gympanzee Nursery on May 28, 2012. Charles had been a teacher at the daycare centre inside the mall for 18 months and had one child, Maahir aged five, at the time.
Charles’s mother, Maryam Charles, on Wednesday said they were suing the owners of the crèche and the shopping centre, as well as the Qatari government, because they cannot afford to raise Maahir on their own.
“We were happy about the ruling. We are still very emotional, but someone has to pay for this little boy’s future. Shameega was the only provider of income for him and now she is gone.
“She went to Doha to make more money so that he could have a better future.
“We don’t want this for any other reason other than to make sure he gets the best education,” she said.
Charles said the family, especially Maahir, were still struggling with the trauma of her death.
“The last time we saw her was the day she left on December 15, 2010. We are trying to stay strong, but I still break down sometimes. Maahir is still going for counselling. I’m also in the process of adopting Maahir so that he can be cared for properly,” she said.
Charles said they had contacted Cape Town lawyer Michael Bagraim to help them last month. Bagraim said he believed they had a strong case as there had already been a conviction of gross negligence.
“I was touched by the family’s story because their daughter’s death was the result of poor safety conditions. Our Qatar-based attorney Sami Abu Shaikha has already issued a notice to sue, but we are not certain at this stage on the amount we will be asking for,” he said.
barbara.maregele@inl.co.za
Cape Times