Memorial for girl, 7, believed to have been killed by her father

Pupils, parents and teachers leave flowers and messages as they grieve for the girl and her two-year-old sister who are believed to have been murdered by their father before he took his own life.

DUBAI // Grieving pupils have set up a playground memorial for a classmate believed to have been murdered by her father.

Flowers, notes and cards are mounting up at Raffles World Academy in Jumeirah in tribute to the seven-year-old victim.

The memorial is helping the children, parents and teachers mourn the popular grade 2 pupil, said Mark Thompson, head of the junior school, on Thursday.

“Children have put a little card or some flowers and written notes on what they feel for our little girl,” he said.

“It is very touching and beautiful. Children have made pictures and put them up.”

A Dubai Police source said the bodies of two girls, age 2 and 7, were found on Sunday night.

It is believed their Pakistani father drowned them before killing himself.

The girls’ mother found the bodies when she arrived home from a night out.

The memorial has been set up in a playground just outside the child’s classroom.

Pupils from the primary school, high school, teachers and parents have written in a book placed at the memorial. The notes and cards will later be sent to the girl’s family, Mr Thompson said.

Counsellors have been brought in by the school to help the children and teachers deal with their grief.

Teachers have also been trained in grief counselling to help them attend to the children and answer their questions.

“We have taken careful advice from professional counsellors about how to deliver support to students and teachers,” Mr Thompson said. “The grade 2 students have needed the most support and have had the most help.

“They have asked some questions. Everyone is comprehending what has happened at their own level.

“We do not speculate about what has happened also because we don’t know the details are accurate.”

The pupils’ questions or concerns are being handled individually in different classrooms. The school plans to continue to monitor the children and keep counsellors available.

“The memorial has been a whole school effort and it has genuinely brought us together,” Mr Thompson said. “I’m touched by so many messages. I think what is touching is the range of beautiful thoughts that people have expressed.”

The girls’ mother found her husband’s body in the swimming pool at their villa off Emirates Road and found her daughters strangled and then drowned in an upstairs bathroom, police said.

Investigations are under way to find the reasons behind the deaths.