I don’t know about you, but I often find myself staring into the open fridge in hopes of finding something tasty.
It’s a strange thing for me to do, because I am usually the person who does the grocery shopping, so I know exactly what’s in there. It’s as if I think that maybe elves have come in the night and hidden sweet treats somewhere in the veggie crisper.
I don’t have any fridge-stocking elves myself, but this Ramadan, there are, in fact, fridge-stocking elves at work in Dubai and Abu Dhabi: the Ramadan Sharing Fridge programme, started by a few women in Dubai as a way of helping labourers stay healthy and hydrated through the long hot days of summer. The programme has spread like wildfire. At last glance, the Facebook page for the UAE Sharing Fridge group had more than 22,000 members. Everyone, it seems, wants to be a fridge-filling elf.
One of the reasons for the programme's popularity has to be its simplicity: find a fridge and someone who is willing to “donate” the electricity to keep the fridge plugged in. Then tell people the location of the fridge and voila, the fridge will be filled – with fruit, dates, laban, water, juice, takeaway meals. The only rule is that you not use the fridge as a dumping ground for your leftovers: you should put into the fridge only what you yourself would eat or drink.
It’s such a simple plan that the cynic in me can’t quite believe that it works, or that it hasn’t been taken over by some bureaucrat who will insist that a zillion forms need to be filled out, in quintuplicate.
If that were to happen, I predict the programme will wither away. The desire to do community service wanes in direct proportion to demands of paperwork: people would rather fill up fridges than fill out forms.
So far the form-bearers have left the fridges alone, but unfortunately, that does not mean that this programme has been problem-free. I went to a fridge near my doctor’s office in Al Bateen last week and filled it with juice and dates, only to discover later that this fridge was going to be decommissioned.
It turned out that some men who live in one of the big houses nearby were seen coming out of their house, helping themselves to what was in the fridge, and then going back inside to eat and drink in comfort. These men weren’t labourers and weren’t working outside in the hot sun. They looked to be guys having a lark, gaming the system because hey, who doesn’t like a little fresh fruit now and then?
On the one hand, I’m not at all surprised that these guys chose to disregard the mission of the Sharing Fridge project. Self-interest all too frequently trumps the needs of the community (as the aptly named presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, demonstrates again and again).
On the other hand, the do-gooder in me is surprised that during this month, of all months, people in Abu Dhabi would choose self-interest over the community good.
Isn’t Ramadan supposed to be the time of year when we concentrate on sharing what we can with others who don’t have as much, in hopes that this month’s efforts will become year-round habit?
Judging from the comments on the Facebook page, however, it looks like the positive side of human nature is in the ascendant. Very few problems are being reported, which means – I hope – that people are respecting the philanthropic goals that underpin the Sharing Fridge project.
As community service goes, filling a fridge isn’t glamorous or exotic. I’ll extend the benefit of the doubt to those well-off guys who are suspected of pilfering from the Sharing Fridge: maybe this mode of community service is in fact so humble, they didn’t recognise it as such. I’m sceptical, but I suppose it’s possible.
The programme might be humble, but isn’t feeding the hungry the very least that we can do for one another: the very fundament of caretaking? So take these last days of Ramadan and be a fridge-filling elf. And while you’re at it, fill another. And another.
Deborah Lindsay Williams (mannahattamamma.com) is a professor of literature at NYU Abu Dhabi
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)
Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg
Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
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
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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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
