‘I HAVE LOST ALL DESIRE FOR LIFE’
The incident took place at Wadi Qari, 20km from where the boys lived in Samail, a town in Al Dakhiliyah around 80km from Muscat FATHER LEFT HEARTBROKEN AFTER TWO SONS DROWN IN WADI NEAR SAMAIL
MUSCAT: The parents who lost two of their sons when they drowned while swimming in a wadi last weekend say they feel nothing else now, except for the pain of their departure from this world.
On Saturday, July 10, 22-yearold Ahmed Al Jabri, and his younger brother, Mahmood, 19, travelled with their cousin, also named Ahmed, 18, to Wadi Qari, 20 km from where they live in Samail, a town in Al Dakhiliyah that is around 80km from Muscat and about 90km from the regional capital of Nizwa.
Mahmood, the younger brother, was eager to swim in a pond, which had been formed from the wadi’s waters, and dove in. On reaching the centre of the pond, however, he began to tire quickly, and struggled to stay afloat. Ahmed saw him in danger, and rushed to rescue him.
Because he had approached him from the wrong direction, however, he found it hard to keep a hold on Mahmood and bring him to safety. Ahmed’s efforts to rescue his brother tired him as well, and the two of them drowned together.
Their cousin screamed at them to paddle towards the shore as hard as they could, but try as they might, they could not get the energy needed to return to the shore.
Desperate to get them to safety, their cousin called for some expatriates, who were also exploring the area, to help him. On arriving at the lake, however, they knew it was too wide and deep for inexperienced swimmers, and so advised him to call rescue services.
A tearful Ahmed called the rescue services, pleading with them to come quickly, telling them ‘there is still time to save my cousins’. Despite their best efforts, however, emergency response teams could not save the two boys.
Grieved
“I am very grieved by the departure of my sons…I still cannot believe they are no longer with us at home,” said Khaled bin Mahmood Al Jabri, the father of the two boys. “I will no longer be able to hear their voice, their laughter, all I feel now is their separation from us, and their empty places at our dining table. I will no longer be able to call them to help us when we receive guests.
“I have lost a large part of my life,” said the grief-stricken father. “It was a great shock to hear the news of their drowning. I still can’t believe that they are gone forever. There is a pain in my heart that I cannot describe. Sometimes I believe God has given me a test of my patience to see if I can bear this agony. I implore God to give me the strength to bear the loss of a part of my soul.”
“I feel nothing now in this life, but the great pain of their departure,” he added. “I am very broken, and only now say those things that please our Lord. All the corners of our house are alive with the memories of my sons. They were loved by all of us: myself, their mother, our children, and the sounds of their voice always gave us comfort.”
Their mother, who was equally heartbroken, added: “Their separation has left me tormented. They were good boys, always respectful.
They would finish their prayers on time, and then clean the house without me even telling them to. Everyone in this area had nothing but praise for them. I ask for everyone to please pray for their souls.”
The three young men were part of a group of close friends who would regularly take trips outside Samail to explore the rugged features. On this occasion, Ahmed contacted his elder brother, Mohammed, and their friends, as he was keen to see the wadi, but many of them declined, saying it would be better to go after the Eid holidays.
While they normally inform their parents whenever they go on such excursions, on this occasion, the brothers only told their mother they were going out, said Mohsin Al Jabri, the uncle of the young men.