ABU DHABI // At just 21, Ebrahim Al Harbi manages to combine running his family-owned travel agency with studying for a degree in international relations at Zayed University.
Growing up as an only child, the Emirati strived to live up to the expectations of his parents, who wanted him to get the best education possible.
But with handling the day-to-day affairs of the company, meeting clients, closing deals and attending his classes at the university, he has a busy life.
“It’s a lot of work, so you can just imagine the immense pressure on me as the only child,” Mr Al Harbi said.
When his 58-year-old father handed over the reins of Golden Links Travel to him in November last year, the son did not hesitate.
“In fact, I asked for it,” he said. “The travel agency was set up in 2010 and it was not doing well. When I took over the business, I was able to close an important deal with a training centre which booked flights and accommodation from us.”
His father Haiel, who is a legal consultant the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, also owns a law firm, a Haj and Umrah agency, a real estate firm and a laundry shop.
“He’s my role model,” Mr Al Harbi said. “He inspired me to give importance to education. He wants me to finish my bachelor’s degree and then take my masters. He told me not to stop until I got my PhD.”
Mr Al Harbi studied at the American International School in Abu Dhabi for 14 years, and graduated in 2011.
Despite gaining acceptance at Kent State University’s medicine programme, he decided to stay in the UAE and attend Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, where he took a 10-month intensive course to learn French before taking up a law course for 18 months.
In 2013, he decided to shift to international relations at Zayed University. He expects to graduate in January next year.
He completed the Abu Dhabi Ambassador Programme offered by the Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority in May last year, and is now working on obtaining a tour guide licence.
Launched in 2008, the programme was created to give nationals the skills to promote the emirate both to tourists at home and to other nations while overseas.
“I had just turned 20 when I joined and was the youngest in our batch,” he said. “I am proud to say that I can speak four languages – Arabic, English, Farsi and French.”
His cousin Saeed Abdulsalam, 47, believes Mr Al Harbi is destined for success.
“I saw him grow up and graduate from high school,” said Mr Abdulsalam, who has worked for the family’s law firm for that past 13 years as an accountant and public relations officer.
“I strongly believe he would become a good diplomat because of his knowledge of foreign languages and natural talent for diplomacy.”
When he graduates next year, Mr Al Harbi expects to work at a national airline, then take his master’s degree in international law at Paris Sorbonne in October.
“I also plan to learn a fifth language, most probably Spanish,” he said.
He plans to put to good use his knowledge in diplomacy, law and international relations as well as his experience in tourism and business.
“I’ve travelled to 20 different countries and everywhere I go, I always speak well of my country and leaders,” he said.
“I will promote my country as a tourist destination, and the significant role that religion plays in our culture. I think that is the best contribution I can do as a proud representative of my country.”
When he turns 24, he plans to sign up for military service to give back to his country.
“I know it will be very tough and rigorous,” Mr Al Harbi said. “But it’s not only about setting up new national defence and reserve forces. It’s also toughening up Emiratis to reduce the incidence of diabetes, and solve the Arab youth unemployment.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
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3. Hajj
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Attacks on Egypt’s long rooted Copts
Egypt’s Copts belong to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, with Mark the Evangelist credited with founding their church around 300 AD. Orthodox Christians account for the overwhelming majority of Christians in Egypt, with the rest mainly made up of Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Anglicans.
The community accounts for some 10 per cent of Egypt’s 100 million people, with the largest concentrations of Christians found in Cairo, Alexandria and the provinces of Minya and Assiut south of Cairo.
Egypt’s Christians have had a somewhat turbulent history in the Muslim majority Arab nation, with the community occasionally suffering outright persecution but generally living in peace with their Muslim compatriots. But radical Muslims who have first emerged in the 1970s have whipped up anti-Christian sentiments, something that has, in turn, led to an upsurge in attacks against their places of worship, church-linked facilities as well as their businesses and homes.
More recently, ISIS has vowed to go after the Christians, claiming responsibility for a series of attacks against churches packed with worshippers starting December 2016.
The discrimination many Christians complain about and the shift towards religious conservatism by many Egyptian Muslims over the last 50 years have forced hundreds of thousands of Christians to migrate, starting new lives in growing communities in places as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.
Here is a look at major attacks against Egypt's Coptic Christians in recent years:
November 2: Masked gunmen riding pickup trucks opened fire on three buses carrying pilgrims to the remote desert monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor south of Cairo, killing 7 and wounding about 20. IS claimed responsibility for the attack.
May 26, 2017: Masked militants riding in three all-terrain cars open fire on a bus carrying pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, killing 29 and wounding 22. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
April 2017: Twin attacks by suicide bombers hit churches in the coastal city of Alexandria and the Nile Delta city of Tanta. At least 43 people are killed and scores of worshippers injured in the Palm Sunday attack, which narrowly missed a ceremony presided over by Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt Orthodox Copts, in Alexandria's St. Mark's Cathedral. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks.
February 2017: Hundreds of Egyptian Christians flee their homes in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, fearing attacks by ISIS. The group's North Sinai affiliate had killed at least seven Coptic Christians in the restive peninsula in less than a month.
December 2016: A bombing at a chapel adjacent to Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral in Cairo kills 30 people and wounds dozens during Sunday Mass in one of the deadliest attacks carried out against the religious minority in recent memory. ISIS claimed responsibility.
July 2016: Pope Tawadros II says that since 2013 there were 37 sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt, nearly one incident a month. A Muslim mob stabs to death a 27-year-old Coptic Christian man, Fam Khalaf, in the central city of Minya over a personal feud.
May 2016: A Muslim mob ransacks and torches seven Christian homes in Minya after rumours spread that a Christian man had an affair with a Muslim woman. The elderly mother of the Christian man was stripped naked and dragged through a street by the mob.
New Year's Eve 2011: A bomb explodes in a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria as worshippers leave after a midnight mass, killing more than 20 people.
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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