Anger of victims' parents of Doha's Villaggio mall fire

Smoke rises above the Villaggio Mall, in Doha's west end, as a fire took hold of the upscale mall.

ABU DHABI // Parents of the 13 children who died in a fire at a shopping centre in Doha have described suggestions that the mall might reopen this week as "outrageous, hurtful and indefensible".

In a letter to The National today, the parents say the suggestion is especially painful "given that we have not heard a thing about the investigation, have not been apprised of any meaningful reforms in the wake of the tragedy, and have not received any offers of a just financial settlement.

"The owners and operators … should not be allowed to go back to 'business as usual' without having addressed the needs and concerns of the families."

The parents intend to petition the Qatari authorities to keep the mall closed, and if it reopens they are urging the public to boycott it.

Nineteen people died in the fire on May 28 after children and staff were trapped in a nursery inside the Villaggio Mall.

A government investigation determined that the fire was caused by an electrical fault. It found failures by mall staff, a lack of fire-safety training and inadequate safety equipment, among other lapses.

Martin Weekes, whose two-year-old triplets Lillie, Jackson and Willsher were among the victims, said yesterday he had received no information about “the changes required to make the mall safe”.

The parents were visited by the Qatari crown prince, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on June 4, before the investigation began, but have heard nothing since, Mr Weekes said.

The Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported last week that Villaggio Mall had undergone renovation and was preparing to reopen before Eid Al Fitr, which is expected to begin on Saturday.

"Really, we don’t know when we are going to open,” said the manager of a Ralph Lauren shop, who identified himself as Himat Loren.

"They said maybe on the 15th but it is not seeming that we’re going to reopen because they need a lot of work."

The children who died in the fire were aged from 15 months to 7 years. All were expatriates, with parents from China, France, Egypt, the United States and more. Four nursery workers and two firefighters also died.

The mall's website still carries a message about the tragedy posted after the fire: "We offer our deepest condolences to all the families of the victims and martyrs on duty who lost their lives in the fire. May the departed souls rest in peace and may Almighty Allah give fortitude to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss."

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