Deaths of soldiers and actor make for an emotionally-charged week

Sarah Khamis highlights the most-discussed topics on Twitter over the past week

It’s not difficult to guess what occupied the minds of Emirati Twitter users over the past week. It was the deaths of three Emirati soldiers in Yemen that, quite naturally, elicited an overwhelming reaction.

Other topics that stirred passions in equal measure from within and outside this country included the death of the legendary Egyptian actor, Nour El Sherif, and the clean-up drive undertaken by GCC tourists in Austria.

Emirati martyrs

The twitterati united in grief following the death last week of Juma Jawhar Juma Al Hammadi, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shehhi and Fahim Saeed Ahmed Al Habsi, who went to Yemen to take part in Operation Restoring Hope.

Individuals such as @bujsem were at their patriotic best. “Our countries are worth more than our lives, we are proud of our martyrs and we hope Allah will grant our wish to become martyrs like them.”

Hamad (@uae_3G) took a broader view as he expressed his gratitude to Yemenis for lending support to the Emirates’ mission.

“We cannot forget how Yemeni citizens stood by us, ” he commented.

Meanwhile, @MEalhammadi posted an emotionally-charged photograph showing Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed kissing the forehead of the father of one of the fallen soldiers.

All of them prayed for the departed souls.

Death of an actor

Egypt lost one of its leading actors on Tuesday. The pain felt by the fans of Nour El Sherif, who died at 69, was apparent in their posts.

While @MaydanQ dug out some rare photographs of the actor, @mohammednajeeb5 wrote a short tribute: “The knight left us before it was time for him to reach the finish line.” Everyone cried for him, he said, as he prayed for his soul.

On Sheikh Zayed

There is one person each and every Emirati not just respects but loves – Sheikh Zayed. The Father of the Nation occupied the minds of many social-media users who shared with others the lessons they had learnt from him.

@a_alketbi77, for example, urged Emiratis to “remain united, no matter what happens”. @For MAAlJabri, “unity is strength. It’s unity that helps us not just to survive but grow.”

What @Nrjsiiad learnt from Sheikh Zayed is that we should be able to “give unconditionally”.

What lesson did @mally_mtheel learn from Sheikh Zayed? It’s that “there is nothing called impossible”.

@lulu_almannai85 and @WafaAlMulla echoed Sheikh Zayed’s message urging others to show love, kindness and compassion towards others and help those in need.

“We are all Zayed’s sons, whether Emirati or not,” remarked @dbelhoul.

The message that @albustani_m sent was: “We should not show our strength by waging war but through our love and wisdom.”

GCC tourists in Austria

Austrians often complain about the rubbish that tourists from GCC countries generate. To counter this allegation, a group of visitors from this region embarked on a drive to clean public parks in Austria.

Some Twitter users thought that GCC tourists were not careful enough while disposing of their rubbish.

So @almodifer welcomed the cleaning initiative.

@HoLSTN10 insisted that the gesture proved that these people respect the country’s laws.

@AlrawqiMetaib had some simple advice: just don’t litter. “Respect others and you will get respect in return,” he said.

@ali22662 applauded the initiative, but wondered whether all Austrians behave in the same fashion.

@layanGhan appreciated the efforts of the tourists, pointing out how important it is to acknowledge one’s mistakes. “We bothered them and we should correct our fault,” the post said.

On Twitter: @SarahKhamisUAE