The Sultanate of Oman bade adieu to the children who lost their lives to flood floods on Sunday as prayers and condolences poured in from different corners of the society.
Dr Ahmed al Budhaini, academician and educational counsellor, called the demise of 15 children 'unfortunate'.
Rayees Ahmed, President Indian School Ghubra and member of the Board of Directors of Indian Schools Oman, expressed his condolences.
"As a parent, my thoughts immediately rush forward to express my heartfelt sympathy to the parents, relatives and friends of the young ones. The loss of a child is tragic and I can feel their deep sense of loss and helplessness. Having been associated with schools for over three decades, the loss of students in a tragedy upsets me completely," Ahmed said.
"Every life is precious, every child sent from the Almighty. The loss of children in a tragedy here in Oman has shaken all of us. We are all mourning the loss of these precious lives. May the Almighty give all the strength and fortitude to deal with this unexpected loss of these very young children.
Alex, another academician, associated with a foreign school was deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic death of nine children at Samad on Sunday.
"No parent should ever have to experience the pain of losing a child. May God grant fortitude to the bereaved families to bear the loss and may the blessed souls of these children find eternal rest in God’s presence," he said.
Lalshmi, a parent, said, "It's extremely unfortunate to lose so many lives in a single mishap. My heartfelt condolences to the grieving families. In such situations it's very important to understand that every stakeholder should make decisions at their level. Firstly, it's the family that should pay heed to nature's warning signs and take them seriously.
"We as individuals have a bigger responsibility and take our call based on our immediate climatic and geographic conditions. Safety of children should be the primary concern and the recent pandemic has given us enough tools to tide over the situation.
"One such tool is online schooling. Every school must have the infrastructure ready to switch to online mode as and when required keeping children safe as priority." "Secondly, in view of sudden dramatic changes in climate and very unique natural features like flash floods in Oman, places like schools should be built in highlands and away from streams and other water bodies," she said.
Bhakti Shetty, a student of a community school, prayed for the children and offered their souls peace. "May God give strength to their families," she said.
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