My phone was pinging non-stop last night after two young girls got lost in Dubai Hills Estate, where I live. It was the main topic of conversation in several WhatsApp groups I’m part of that have nothing to do with the area.
The post about these two six-year-olds disappearing, sent out by their parents, spread far and wide. People all over the city were genuinely concerned about the girls’ well-being.
There was a false alarm when we were told they had been found, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But then came the message: “They have NOT been found. Please keep looking! Keep sharing!” So, we did.
My neighbours were out on the street. I’m in Doha for work, but I was glued to my phone. “What’s happening now?” I kept asking my neighbour who was roaming the neighbourhood with dozens of other strangers on foot or on bikes, all of them looking for the girls. All I could do was keep sharing whatever confirmed information came my way with whoever cared, which, thankfully, was everyone I contacted.
I’m pretty sure we were all more or less thinking the same thing: it could be us. It could be our kids. But, also: not in Dubai.
The police arrived, but everybody kept looking and helping. After a couple of hours, the girls were found at Dubai Hills Mall by someone who recognised them from the images being shared.
How and why they got there remains a mystery to most of us. But what became very clear to me was that, no matter how big and busy Dubai gets, it’s still a close-knit community of individuals who care about what happens to each other, especially our children.
It’s easy to get lost in the noise of misinformation, social media and AI, but when it really matters, there is so much power in community on these platforms. At one point, someone tried to claim the girls' disappearance was fake news but, thankfully, no one was taking any chances. Two little six-year-olds could be missing and there might be a mother at home losing her mind. People weren’t going to stand by and let that happen.
Later that night, videos were shared of the police thanking the community, saying they couldn’t have found the girls without everybody’s help. Many of us had been unnerved to think children could go missing in our community. While everything turned out well in the end, it was reassuring to discover that, if anything like this did happen, so many people, both near and far, would have your back.
Sure, there was the odd person panicking, but overall, people came together in an organised fashion, determined to bring those girls home safely. That knowledge will help me sleep soundly at night.
Dubai can be a transient place – now more than ever with so many new people arriving – but it was encouraging that the power of community continues. At the same time, those girls apparently took a 30-ish-minute walk by themselves to the mall, before they were found.
What makes this city feel like home is that sense of safety and security while living among people from all over the world. It’s why so many of us have chosen to bring up our children here. And it’s nice to know – more than a decade after I arrived – that remains the same.
