Days after the Fujairah traffic accident killed two of her four children and her grandchild, Arifa is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. “I still don’t know what happened,” she told Khaleej Times.
Arifa was sitting beside her youngest grandchild at Fujairah Hospital, where the one-year-old is being treated for a fractured leg. Beside her, her daughter, Farsana, sat in a wheelchair, her hand in a cast and her face bruised. Arifa’s niece, Fahmida, was with them.
The crash
Arifa’s 21-year-old twins, Mohammed Asmil and Misna Jubin, and her three-year-old grandchild, Mohammed Fayiz, were killed when the car they were travelling in crashed into a truck.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
The family had gone to Sharjah to drop Fahmida home and were returning when the accident occurred.
“We had stopped at Mleiha for a tea,” Arifa recalled. “Then we continued our journey. We had already entered Fujairah when I felt tired. I was sitting in the front seat along with my son. I told him I was feeling tired and was going to lean back in the seat.”
The next thing she remembers is a noise like thunder. “It was pitch black and I couldn’t see any of them,” she said. “I found the door handle and opened it. I then crawled out and saw my children all scattered. I found my youngest grandchild and held him close until the ambulance arrived.”
Arifa and her husband, Siddiq, had travelled to India in late October for medical treatment, leaving Mohammed and Misna behind. Fahmida went to Fujairah to stay with the twins. “The three of us spent almost every waking hour together,” she said, her voice breaking.
Twins die 2 days after their birthday
The twins celebrated their 21st birthday on November 9. “We went out for dinner together and had so much fun,” Fahmida said.
On Wednesday morning, Arifa and Siddiq returned from India with Farsana and her children. That evening, the family drove to Sharjah to take Fahmida home. “After they dropped me, I went to sleep,” she said. “At around 1.30am, a relative called and informed me about the accident. My husband and I immediately left for Fujairah.”
Siddiq has lived in Fujairah since the late 1970s and runs a cafeteria and restaurant called Eva. Mohammed managed the restaurant and was there every day. “Both he and Misna were doing their degrees online, so they had flexible timings,” Siddiq said. “He was very friendly with everyone, and all the regular customers knew him.”
Siddiq spoke of how inseparable the twins were. “They were very close,” he said. “They always knew what was on the other person’s mind. Maybe that is why they left the earth also together.”
A special bond
According to Arifa, Misna was deeply attached to little Fayiz. “She always used to carry him around,” she said. “That is also why he was in her lap at the time of the crash.”
Fahmida said Misna stayed close to her nephew even from a distance. “They had a very special bond,” she said. “Every day they would talk on video call, and she would enjoy his chatter.”
Farsana’s eldest child, aged 12, also remains in hospital. “She has some injuries, and doctors are still discussing further treatment for her,” Siddiq said.
The couple’s elder son, Ajmal, works with a pharmacy chain in the UAE. “We were looking for a marriage proposal for him, and all of us were planning to go to India after three months to try and fix something,” Siddiq said.
Source: Khaleej Times