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Imagine waking your child for daycare, dressing her, kissing her goodbye- just to receive the most devastating call of your life. Your beloved child is in critical condition in the hospital. In the short while it takes you to reach the hospital, your whole world falls apart - your daughter is pronounced dead.
On the 9th of May 2022, we lost our beloved daughter Fartun Yussef, at just five years old. Fartun drowned in the pool a few meters away from her kindergarten. This was a gross failing and neglect on the part of those responsible for her care.
Several things have utterly bewildered us in this case, and even more aspects are inconceivable when trying to reconcile with the kindergarten's claim that this was nothing but a tragic accident.
For one, Fartun was autistic, and this kindergarten was catered explicitly to special needs children. No more than two children were assigned to each adult to ensure they were under special care and supervision. It is beyond unreasonable that Fartun was missing long enough to leave the premises, climb a fence (over a meter and a half) to reach the pool, for the awful incident to occur and a further while for the staff to find her. And yet the police insist on dismissing this as a 'brief moment of inattention. If this is the case, why did the police refuse to determine how long Fartun was in the water? We are troubled that the police did not do a thorough investigation during the autopsy.
Our Fartun was a quiet child who had difficulties walking. Yet the kindergarten would have us believe she climbed a steel mat fence over a meter and a half. They assert that there was no way that the gate was left open, so Fartun must have climbed over it. The tight pattern of the fence does not even allow for any foothold, making it almost impossible for a child with no motor difficulties to climb over, let alone Fartun. As parents, we know our children's behaviors and inclinations. Fartun was not one to climb and explore; she was a sensitive and reserved child, which makes this very difficult for me to believe.
However, we do understand that tragic mistakes do happen that can result in devastating incidents, which is why it would at least be understandable if the kindergarten apologized sincerely for the mistakes that led to our daughter's death. If they had accepted responsibility, it would have helped our family grieve and move forward. But what makes the matter worse is that they insist and maintain they had no part to play in her death. Again and again, they put the blame on Fartun and hold her solely accountable for her death while washing themselves of any guilt. We will not stand for this under any circumstances. Fartun was our life, and the hole she left will never be replaced. We will not rest until we get justice and hold the people responsible accountable for their actions; or lack thereof
As parents, when taking our children to kindergarten, there is a duty of care that transfers over. Fartun came to them, healthy and happy; that was the last time I saw her alive. Based on the above and other holes in the case we can't disclose now for the integrity of the trial, we have chosen to file a lawsuit against the kindergarten/municipality and seek justice for our daughter. Furthermore, a tragic event like this shouldn't happen when we hand our precious into the hands of people who promise to take good care of our children.
This is where we turn to you, the community. Over the last few months, we have done everything we can to fund our legal team. We have put every penny into this and will continue to turn over every stone to accumulate the funding we need. But due to developments in the case, we will take our case to the international courts, which means that costing of our legal fees will increase dramatically, which is why we are turning to our beloved community for help. We will not rest until we can ensure something like this will not happen again. Any donation, however small, will be a huge help and much appreciated.
Thank you kindly for all your help and support. Jazakallah Khair
-Hani Hassan
