Ahmed, a 31-year-old Emirati, has spent the past 10 years in and out of prison for drug-related crimes.
Looking at him, you might not know it. He dresses in a gleaming white, perfectly pressed kandoura, and wears designer sunglasses. But his looks are deceiving.
His first stint behind bars came when he was just 20 and a regular marijuana smoker. Within the first few months of his sentence, he became caught up in what he says was "everywhere" in the jail - sharing needles to inject heroin.
In 2004, while serving his second sentence, he tested positive for HIV. He is articulate and well spoken, with perfect English, but seems genuinely oblivious to the fact his drug use had put him at huge risk of contracting the disease.
"I didn't use hard drugs outside the jail," he insists. "But everything you imagine is in jail, anything you want you can get. I felt very bad. I missed my family, so I injected heroin, and shared needles."
The UN cites intravenous drug use, along with extra-marital heterosexual sex, as the main HIV risk factors for Emirati men. For women it is transmission from her husband.
Three years ago, while out of prison, Ahmed married, despite his HIV status. He has since been sentenced to another three years but was released last Ramadan.
He now plans to have children with his wife, an expatriate who is free of the virus. He says he has vowed not to return to drugs.
"I have lost everything because of this," he says angrily. "I can't get a job because of this. Nobody will give me a chance. I have got zero."
Despite insisting he has come to terms with his HIV, Ahmed does not seem to be able to stop himself venting his frustration at anyone who will listen. His doctor, the prison staff, his "nasty Russian" jailmates, are all subjects of rambling abuse, as if they are to blame for his HIV status. One area where his frustration is possibly well earned is at potential employers who dismiss him on the basis of his health. The law requires UAE nationals to take an HIV test before starting a new job, getting married or having surgery at a government hospital.
Earlier this month, the Council of Ministers approved a law that would make it illegal for employers to discriminate against people with HIV/Aids. Ahmed says he hopes the new rules will allow him to get some normality back in his life.
"When they hear you have HIV they say 'bye bye, we'll call you', and they don't. A job is the most important part of it. You can have children but you can't have a job," he says.
Those who contracted HIV through drug use often undergo different treatment. Because of their history with addiction, doctors are reluctant to prescribe them some of the non-essential medicines to ease the symptoms of the antiretroviral drugs.
"I can't sleep. It feels like fire in my body but they won't give me anything," he says.
"I am not allowed. I am free of drugs. I will never take them again, but [getting] the medicine is difficult." Ahmed says this could be the reason that so many HIV positive Emiratis leave the country for treatment.
According to the UN Progress Report 2010, less than a fifth of local HIV/Aids patients seek treatment in the UAE.
Another part of this, according to Ahmed, could be to do with the lack of awareness and psychological support available.
"It's very difficult," he says. "Some of the doctors are very good but there is no real help. We take our medicine like people take insulin, but we are treated so differently and there isn't the support there, something I hope will change."
@Email:munderwood@thenational.ae
Japan 30-10 Russia
Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky
Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev
Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
UAE%20medallists%20at%20Asian%20Games%202023
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The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410
Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company%20Profile
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala