Dubai Police investigation under way after two pupils from same private school commit suicide


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Two pupils attending the same private school in the Al Qusais area of Dubai claimed their own lives in two separate incidents one day apart.

A 16-year-old Filipina hanged herself in her bedroom last Tuesday evening. Her mother, a nurse, found the body and called Dubai police’s operation room.

The girl, who lived with her mother alone, is believed to have suffered from depression and had previously attempted suicide.

The second incident was reported to police by a passersby at 11pm the following day after a 15-year-old boy, also Filipino, jumped from the balcony of his parents’ eighth floor apartment while his parents were asleep.

Police and prosecution investigations are ongoing but primary suspicions revolve around the Blue Whale Challenge, which is a social network game that first appeared in May 2016.

Read more: Concerns over ‘copycat’ behaviour from youths watching suicide-related TV show

The ‘game’ reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide.

“We are investigating all possibilities and to confirm whether the pupils had actually played the game or not, their mobile phones will be referred to the criminal laboratory for inspection next week,” said an official.

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Points to remember
  • Debate the issue, don't attack the person
  • Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
  • Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

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