It is the one visitor we are sure will show up one day at our door, yet it is never easy when death finally visits your household. I recently had a death in my family, and issues long forgotten and buried came up again, as did the issue of death itself and people's different takes on it. "She was suffering, so death came as a mercy for her," one of my relatives said of the woman who had just died after a long struggle with a terminal illness. But her children didn't take it so well, and one of them was actually angry: he felt it was unfair that his mother, a "sweet and giving lady", had to suffer so much and die in pain.
"She is a martyr, for she was a very good person and always helped everyone," one of the elders said. That triggered a heated debate among the younger crowd, and even led to an exchange of angry words about which deaths could be viewed as martyrdom and which could not. In times of war, or assassinations here in the Middle East, anyone who is killed, whether innocent bystander or directly involved, will most probably be called a martyr. There are numerous martyr posters in countries constantly plagued by wars and instability, such as the Palestinian Territories, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon: once I even wrote a story about the people and the companies that make those martyr posters.
I had a relative killed in a bombing in Lebanon two years ago, and even before I knew he had been killed I saw a poster of him as a martyr. It was a bit too much for his family, and they asked for the posters to be removed from the telephone poles and lampposts. The discussion then went off on another tangent, when the talk turned to the etiquette of funerals. Some of us thought it would be nicer if we, the visitors coming to pay our respects, brought the food, instead of expecting the family in mourning to provide. "We know it is tradition, but we should modify it to ease some of the burden on the already suffering family," one of the younger cousins said.
Then we talked about the clothing worn at these occasions. There are now specialised clothing shops for people in mourning, some of them quite fashionable, along with the paler type of make-up expected of women in mourning. Some paint their nails white, and others have that customised white scarf around the neck, while the men wear dark coloured suits. At some Gulf country funerals there is a special sewn-in white outfit like a long traditional dress with elaborate white flowers embroidered along the seams.
It is important to remember that in Islam the actual burial is only the first stage in mourning, while in Christianity the burial is the final step in mourning the death of a loved one. So the difference in the rituals perhaps fosters a different attitude to death. For instance, both my grandmothers are widows, yet their take on the deaths of their husbands is very different. "He died a martyr as he fought for his country and died for a cause," my Middle Eastern grandmother said once about the death of my grandfather. While my European grandmother views the death of her husband, who was also killed, as "something that is part of life, some people know when it will come, others do not. It is nothing to be feared, but the end of a book called life," she would say.
As I said, it is never easy and so people accept death on their own terms. Another aspect that is difficult to discuss is the inability of some people to cry over the death of a loved one. At my relative's funeral there was one family member who just couldn't cry, and brought upon herself a whole barrage of criticism and speculation (as if she needed any more stress in her life). When the portrait of the deceased was passed along the room, as is the tradition in some families, she couldn't cry when she saw it. Instead she decided to read the Quran quietly in the corner for the soul of her relative. But people at the funeral would not give her peace and kept talking about her strange, "insensitive" behaviour.
It seems like in any group gathering there is the problem of gossip and judgments. I just wish people would keep their opinions to themselves in places of mourning, for it is definitely not a place for political or social discussion. After the praying, paying of respects, and catching up on family matters, the family in mourning are left alone with their grief, and that is when it really gets hard.
It is when most of the guests have left that you get to hear a personal story about the person who has just passed away, like her wedding day as retold by the widower, or the first time she danced tango, or even her favorite movie. That is when I like to be there, just to listen, and remember.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Three stars
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”