For those who swim in the Gulf, enjoying this aspect of life can come at a high cost. With paid lifeguards generally only on duty at private beaches and pools, the lack of oversight on public beaches has led to occasional tragedies, with Dubai police dealing with six drownings in the past two years and dozens more swimmers getting into difficulties.
This process of dealing with the consequences rather than taking a more active role in ensuring swimmers' well-being is akin to stationing an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff rather than building a fence at the top of it. But, as The National reported yesterday, this situation might be about to change with the prospect of lifesavers posted on popular public beaches.
Maj Ali Al Naqbi, the head of the police search and rescue division, has urged Dubai Municipality to employ trained lifesavers at beaches such as the one near the Burj Al Arab, an understandably popular site that also sometimes features dangerous currents.
Such an initiative would be both sensible and timely, but the question is what model to adopt. The most famous such service overseas is undoubtedly the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, the largest professional lifeguard service in the world and the inspiration for the television series Baywatch. But other countries have taken a different approach. Surf Life Saving Australia, for example, has a small number of paid lifeguards and a vast army of highly-trained volunteers who patrol the beaches.
This latter approach could provide benefits besides ensuring the safety of Dubai’s swimmers. An army of volunteers would allow people living here – whether as Emiratis or expatriates – to give something back to society, enhance their general first aid skills, fitness and leadership skills. It would also broaden the number of nationalities among lifesavers to better reflect those going swimming.