Parents in The Springs complain of oglers and strange men

Fear surrounds men hanging around parks and play areas; Emaar to launch ‘undercover’ security patrols
By Shuchita Kapur
Published Wednesday, February 02, 2011

If you live in the Springs and face a problem, Security Control can be contacted on +971 4 3089555 round the clock. (FILE)

An increasing number of strange men in the popular residential community The Springs is becoming a source of worry and fear for residents.

A number of parents living in the gated community spoke to Emirates 24|7 about men who frequent the parks and play areas, are being over-friendly with children and at times blatantly ogling at mothers and maids.

“I’ve seen a man come to the park many times. He is friends with the child’s maid. He kisses, hugs and holds the child tightly in front of everybody. I’m sure the mother of the child is unaware of what all is going on,” Gladys Fernandes, a babysitter of four children, told this website.

“I always see a stout man in the park looking at children. Worse, he sits and smokes and there are many infants around. I spotted him daily when I took the children to the park to play during the school break. Now, that the schools are open, he’s missing during the mornings,” she added.

“One day when I was walking on the road with my little girl a man came up to us and started talking. On the first day, he pulled my daughter’s cheeks. The second day, he was there again. I shouted at him, after which, he never came back,” said Nikita Dube, a resident.

Emaar Community Management has now said in a letter to a resident that it would deploy security staff in civvies to closely monitor the area and check on these complaints.

Another parent complained that one cleaner had the audacity of coming up to her to ask her if he could carry her two-and-a-half year old son. “I was walking around the lake with my husband and this cleaner comes up to me and said – ‘can I carry up your child’? I was disgusted and told him to keep away,” said this parent.

Another mother of two said it is never a wise idea to leave the children alone. “I always keep an eye on my kids. They are too small and I don’t feel safe leaving them alone,” Nandita Mathur, a resident of the community said.

Most parents are not sure where these men come from. Even though The Springs is a gated community, there are a huge number of men who are officially employed for cleaning and maintenance work.

“It’s best is to keep a watch on the children. I’m sure all mothers think alike but some maids can get careless and that’s when things can go wrong,” said Chikki Jones, a resident of Springs 11.

In a response to a resident Hanan Insigne, Community Administrator, Emirates Living, Emaar Community Management, wrote, “We appreciate your concerns and feedback with regard to the contractors/ service providers working in your community and please be assured that we take such cases with great concern.

“We have highlighted this issue to our senior community security team who will investigate and take the necessary action as deemed appropriate to address this issue. Furthermore, patrolling security in civil dress will be deployed to closely monitor the area. If you can cite any description of the maintenance staffs (e.g. uniform), please do not hesitate to provide us the details and we will forward the information to community security.”

If you live in the Springs and face a problem, Security Control can be contacted on +971 4 3089555 round the clock.

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