'Scary looking' child suffering from albinism denied entry into mall

Mumbai: A week ago, six-year-old Tiana and her parents were headed to the gaming area of Fun City at Oberoi Mall in Goregaon when they were informed that Tiana–who suffers from partial albinism–was much too ‘scary looking’ to play with other children. The mall management has now apologised to the Dhabhar family for discriminating against Tiana. “We sincerely apologise to Neville (the girl’s father) and his entire family for the distress caused to them during their recent visit to the Fun City outlet at the Oberoi Mall. Tiana (the girl) has been a regular visitor at Fun City, and has always enjoyed her playtime with us. Like every one of the children who visit, she is very important to us and we hope to see her again soon. We have investigated the incident and are taking all the necessary steps to ensure that it does not happen again,” said the apology note, posted on the Facebook pages of the mall and Fun City India. [caption id=“attachment_1646689” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tiana and her father Neville Dhabhar. Photo Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] The incident occurred last week when Tiana, who has been a regular visitor of the mall’s play area for the last three years was prevented from entering the area along with her parents. The mall management then told Neville that they had received complaints from other parents who didn’t want Tiana to play with their children who were scared of the way she looked. “They (people managing the children’s play area) know who she is, they know us. We’ve been coming here and they’ve see Tiana here as well. We were taken aback at their response,” Neville told Firstpost. Tiana suffers from a genetic disorder called partial albinism that causes the skin, hair or eyes to have little or no colour due to the lack of a natural pigment called melanin. “Tiana’s mental development is also delayed due to this condition. Playing at the mall is like therapy for her. Watching people, interacting with other children helps,” Neville said. “We were very hurt when we were told the reason. Parents should learn to accept these situations. This is true for the millions of children who face the same constraints as my daughter,” an anguished Neville added. Acknowledging the apology by mall management, Neville wrote in a separate Facebook post: “I am very pleasantly surprised with the immense support I got, and have nothing against the mall. I am just standing up for these kids and would ask parents of special kids to not differentiate between the children. Every child should be treated the same and this should not happen to any other child ever again.”