RAS AL KHAIMAH // Umm Tariq is filled with bittersweet memories, hoping every day to see her son walk through the front door.
First Lt Tariq Al Shehi, an Emirati policeman, died on March 2 last year after an improvised bomb exploded in Bahrain, where he had been deployed, killing him and two others.
“Thank God he has raised the head of his country and I am proud of him,” said his mother, Hessa Al Qadhi. “It is difficult for each mother to lose her son and I always wish to see him entering the house, but his death for the country and Islam makes me patient and proud.”
Umm Tariq, as she is fondly known, was on Saturday honoured with the mothers of two other fallen Emirati soldiers in the lead-up to the first Martyr’s Day.
The day of remembrance for fallen heroes will be observed on November 30 under the directives of the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and will honour Emiratis who have lost their lives performing their civil, military and humanitarian duty in the UAE and abroad.
On Friday, in further recognition, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, penned a poem for the UAE’s military assistance in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
In the poem, The Island’s Lions, he also praised the soldiers fighting for those who are oppressed.
For Umm Tariq, the pain of losing her eldest son has been soothed by his martyrdom.
It is a sentiment shared by Umm Khalid, whose son, First Cpl Khalid Al Shehhi, died in Yemen at the start of the month.
He and First Cpl Fahim Al Habsi and Juma Al Hammadi died serving in Operation Restoring Hope, the Saudi Arabian-led coalition battling Houthi rebels.
Cpl Al Habsi’s mother spoke of her pride in her son, who leaves behind five children. “He was an affectionate and compassionate father and son,” she said.
“Everyone loved him. I proudly say he is a martyr and did his duty towards the country. I am sad for losing him, but I pray for him to be in Heaven.”
About 200 women from across the country gathered in RAK for Martyrs Mothers’ and Children are Ours.
“In keeping with President Sheikh Khalifa’s vision to mark November 30 each year Martyr’s Day, and the initiative of Sheikha Fatima, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, to honour the mothers of martyrs, we have decided to have a small role in supporting these mothers and let them feel that they have other children,” said Nada Al Shaibani, one of the organisers.
“It is a social and national initiative and we will continue this support because we are all their children. We started in RAK, and then we will do a visit each month to the other emirates.”
Zainab Iskander, an Emirati jewellery designer, paid her condolences to the mothers, handing them each a set of prayer beads as a gift with which they could pray for their martyrs.
“We are here to support and comfort the mothers of martyrs on their calamity and we hope this will be their last grief,” Ms Iskander said.
“I wrote on each one the word ‘My Mother’. I didn’t want to write ‘Martyr’s Mother’ because I want them to forget their calamity.”
Nadia Al Nuaimi, a coordinator of the parents’ council for the RAK Education Zone, attended with a group Emirati volunteers who helped to organise the event.
“We have a group of volunteers and we always participate in all events in the emirate,” Ms Al Nuaimi said. “We have come here to organise the event of our great mothers, who we are proud of, and to support them to feel that we give them something, even if it is small.”
The mothers of all UAE servicemen who died during military operations were also honoured last Friday as part of the country’s first Emirati Women’s Day.
roueiti@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
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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
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying