Imagine your toddler dying in a daycare-center inferno that kills 19 people – 13 children (including a set of triplets), four teachers and two firefighters.
Now imagine your fight for justice going nowhere because the daycare owners are politically connected.
Four years ago, Grace O, an economics professor at Georgia State University, traveled to Qatar to visit her husband, who was teaching there. The couple enrolled their little girl, Zeinah, in a daycare center at a tony shopping mall in Doha, the capital city.
On May 28, 2012, a fire swept through the building, trapping Zeinah, who perished in Doha after living her brief life in Atlanta.
Investigators found the nursery was not licensed and lacked a fire exit and other safety features.
Yet those charged in the blaze remain free. And Zeinah’s parents think it’s because the daycare owners are close to the Qatari royal family.
“This is like a horror movie,” O said.
One that still has no end. Find out what's next — and the legal maneuvers in America and Qatar that have led to this point — in the complete story on MyAJC.com.
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