Many want to adopt abandoned toddler

Manama : Four days after a two-year-old boy was found abandoned in the Manama Suq, several families have come forward to adopt him. 

The boy is currently placed at the Batelco Child Care Centre in the Seef Area. 

Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding how the child ended up alone. Biological parents of the boy are yet to be identified or traced. 

Meanwhile, several families yesterday expressed their willingness to adopt the boy. 

Hussain Shahir, a businessman and father of three yesterday told DT News that he is keen on adopting the child. 

“Even if his parents do not return to claim him, he will not be without a family,” Shahir and many others who were keen on adopting the child told DT News. 

“We never had a plan to adopt, but once I saw this little boy and his predicament, I spoke to my wife about it. 

“We agreed that it is possible to accommodate another child. 

“My wife is also very keen on the idea,” said Shahir, who is from Sri Lanka, but had spent several decades in Bahrain. 

He told DT News that his whole family, including his three daughters, one of them in college and the other two in school, will welcome him with open arms. 

“If the authorities will allow him to be adopted, I would like to be first in line,” Shahir said adding: “I will take care of him and raise him up like my own.” 

Another resident, Harris, an expatriate, also expressed his readiness to adopt the boy. 

Hoora resident Abdullah told DT News that he is willing to provide the boy with financial support. “I am a bachelor, so the best I can do is supporting him financially,” he said. 

Many online users have also expressed their interest in adopting the boy. However the Bahraini law does not allow expats to adopt children.

Meanwhile, claims have also been made online that parents of the child have been identified. 

Screenshot of a Whatsapp conversation posted online showed a user claiming that a resident has identified the parents of the child. 

“My mother recognised the child as one of the children of her customer. She has shared the information to locate the parents,” the user claimed. 

Earlier, the Interior Ministry released a statement asking the public to help identify the child. The statement also assured that no action will be taken against the parents, “if they come forward”. 

Separately, in another statement, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has also assured that it “will not take any action towards the parents of the child”. The authority said that it will not take any action towards the parents in the case that their Work Permit or Residency are expired, terminated, or not in order in any way. 

However, up till no one has come to claim the child.