AL GHARBIA // A group of 10 women sat on traditional Bedouin cushions in the Al Marfa'a wedding hall waiting for a rarity in their corner of the UAE: free, "WEsgood quality" medical check-ups.
They and other Al Marfa'a residents will have access to previously unavailable medical services as part of a seven-day Red Crescent Authority (RCA) campaign that began yesterday. There is a hospital in the area, but many specialist clinics do not exist. Through the RCA programme, residents will be tested for illnesses that include diabetes, hepatitis B, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and anaemia.
Doctors from across the emirate are providing the comprehensive medical check-ups, referring the more complicated cases to RCA-sponsored colleagues who have set up facilities in the hospital. Specialists include ear-nose-throat, dermatology, internal medicine, orthopaedic, maternity, surgery, ophthalmology and paediatric. Residents said they welcomed the influx of technology and doctors.
"The hospital here doesn't do much," said Fatima Yousef, 42, who has lived in Al Marfa'a for 15 years. "I once took my brother's wife to the hospital because she was tired. They made her lie down for a while, then they told her, 'There is nothing wrong with you, you can leave.' But she could not even move."
Mrs Yousef said she was planning to see the orthopaedics specialist because she has back problems. She said she had tried several times to get an appointment at the local police hospital - her husband is an officer - but was always told there was no availability. In addition to medical services, the campaign also aims to develop health awareness and improve residents' living conditions. Sessions on students' roles in avoiding drug addiction, first aid for women and sea rescue are being held.
A portable mammography lab for breast cancer is available for women aged 40 and older. During the first two hours of the campaign, about 40 women signed up for mammogram appointments.
"Those aged below 40, we give them special breast cancer testing gloves and we teach them how to conduct the home test," said Dr Meerna Ghannoum, a radiologist at Almazroui Hospital.
"The most important part of the campaign is raising people's awareness and not just the charity or free services that are offered," said Saeed al Mansouri, the executive director of citizen affairs at the Ruler's Representative Court in Al Gharbia. "Education is what will benefit the 15,000 residents as a whole."
Added Ahmad al Mazrouei, chairman of the RCA: "The Red Crescent is not a charity; it is an international humanitarian organisation that takes care of human beings from all aspects. Society has a big role at the RCA, because humanitarian work requires a combination of efforts." Indeed, residents said they welcomed not just the medical aid, but the chance for permanent change.
"We don't do anything here; we wake up our children, feed them breakfast, clean the house, do the laundry, visit our neighbours and family," said Hamda Yousef, 45, who moved to Al Marfa'a with her husband 30 years ago. "I wish they would open a factory, anything for us to work in, even if they give us only Dh2,000."
Maryam Yousef, another resident, said she was desperate to get a job as a school bus supervisor, but her application was rejected because she did not continue her education past first grade. "I never had the chance to study because I kept having children," she said.
The campaign and treatments are sponsored by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, the Ruler's Representative to Al Gharbia and the president of the RCA, as part of a series of support campaigns to cover the Western Region and the UAE.
hdajani@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Specs
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The%20Kitchen
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Honeymoonish
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
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