JEDDAH, 5 February 2003 — Following last week’s tragic school bus accident at the International Indian School, Jeddah (IISJ), in which 15-year-old Maiyada Naushad Khatib was killed, the school has started to spread rumors that the accident was not the fault of the driver but rather of the girl herself.
She suffered from a brain tumor, IISJ is saying, and that caused her to act in a way that resulted in her death.
“This is absolute nonsense,” Maiyada’s father, Naushad Khatib, told Arab News yesterday.
The school has been in direct touch with him since the accident, but nothing has come of it.
“Three representatives from the school visited me and asked what I wanted. I said all I want is the truth to come out. I want my daughter’s name to be cleared and the right disciplinary action taken against the bus driver. They didn’t even have the courtesy of acknowledging my request.”
Maiyada fell from the bus as it drove off when she was getting off at a stop near her home in Sharafiyah last Wednesday afternoon.
Her family says that the girl’s abaya and bag became entangled with the door, but the bus driver did not stop.
“The school is spreading rumors about my child’s mental health,” the father complains. “What hurts me is that they have access to her medical records, and they state that she had nothing wrong with her.”
Arab News asked Naushad if his daughter had any illness that the school might have assumed was the cause of the accident.
“My daughter had a brain bypass when she was living in Kuwait, and the only side effect is that she couldn’t participate in her physical education classes.
“Even if she had some sort of handicap, that should have entitled her to extra care and attention when she was on the school bus. There is simply no excuse to what happened.”
This is the third time a child has died as a result of alleged carelessness on the part of bus drivers working for IISJ.
