Hessa Al Ossaily was only a teenager when she took the first step towards becoming a broadcasting legend.
In 1965, a representative from the newly launched Sawt Al Sahel (The Voice of the Coast), an Arabic broadcast radio station in Sharjah that was operated by the British military, was looking for new talents.
Just 15, the Emirati, who had a reputation as a star speaker at her school’s morning assembly, was determined to take up the challenge.
“I always had an adventurous kind of soul, where I like to try new things and always try to do them well,” says Al Ossaily, now known as the “mother of UAE media”.
With a heavy fringe, fashionable at the time, and a big smile, her voice was heard on the radio waves introducing the latest social affairs, celebrity talk and entertainment. As well as the chance of a lifetime, it was a way to help support her family.
“I would present light segments, depending on the requests of the listeners who would write in, and we would sit and read the letters and see what they would like to hear,” she recalls.
Mostly listeners wanted legendary Arab singers and the latest releases by a new generation of singers, especially from the Gulf.
“It was a very simple time: people just wanted a break from work, to listen to something light and fun, as the time for news and politics was announced by the males and adults at the radio station,” she says.
Radio was and remains one of the most popular media outlets for the UAE and the rest of the Arab world. Pan-Arab sentiments were high in the late 1950s and 1960s, and a famous Egyptian station, the Sout Al Arab, or Voice of the Arabs, was dedicated to the political waves and breaking news, broadcasting the Pan-Arabist speeches of Gamal Abdul Nasser, the Egyptian ruler, to millions of listeners across the Middle East.
Browsing old photos and covers of magazines that featured her, it is possible to tell the date simply by Al Ossaily’s hairstyle. It ranges from the hippie style hair of the early 1970s to the “big hair” of the 1980s to a more conservative look that dominated the UAE from the 1990s onwards.
Coming from a family of poets, writers and traders, her parents supported her decision to continue her career in broadcast journalism. Later she set another milestone as the first female television presenter for the first TV station in Dubai, Kuwait TV – set up by Kuwait – and working there from 1969 to 1971.
Afterwards, she became the head of Abu Dhabi Radio and TV and their first female Emirati presenter, from 1972 to 1974.
The result was that the entire UAE grew up listening to Al Ossaily’s voice and saw her welcoming smile on their TV sets. They saw her first in black and white and then in colour broadcasts.
“I grew with the broadcasting medium, and I changed as it changed and progressed,” says Al Ossaily, who continued her studies while working, graduating with a diploma in Arabic literature and Islamic studies from Egypt’s Ain Shams University.
“I was lucky to be in the UAE, as our country had always respected and empowered its women. I didn’t get much resistance or backlash from our people, as our nation is founded on supporting women whatever they choose to embark on,” says Al Ossaily. “Women here always had a special place.”
Still, times have changed. “Media was not about showing off and sensationalism as it is now. I don’t understand why some women put on so much make-up and dress up and act silly on air, disrespecting this field and all the hard work of its predecessors who made it possible for journalism and the media to grow and be the power it is now,” says Al Ossaily.
“Dignity, honesty and professionalism is what I always remind the new generation of media professionals.”
From 1974 to 2000, Al Ossaily was head of exhibitions at the Ministry of Information and Culture, organising more than 150 national and international exhibitions. She was also appointed Expo general commissioner for the UAE, the first female to serve in that position in the Arab world, representing the UAE at its pavilions at World Expos in Seville, Spain in 1992, Lisbon in 1998 and Hanover, Germany in 2000.
“I am very proud of this period of my life as I was representing and introducing the UAE to the world. Exhibitions are an international window on our country and provide an opportunity for us to display our capabilities as Arabs and as women to the world,” she says. Recalling a special moment in her life, she says: “Someone had asked the late Sheikh Zayed, ‘Why is Hessa, a woman, representing the UAE abroad?’ And he said, ‘Hessa Al Ossaily is worth more than 10 men’.
“I will never forget Sheikh Zayed’s belief and trust in me, and whenever there were any difficulties or obstacles, I remember what he said and I push on.”
Always working, including on TV specials, she is now the general supervisor of programmes at the new Al Oula (The First) radio station on 107.4FM, launched this year by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre.
Al Oula is the first radio station in the GCC dedicated to broadcasting programmes on national cultural values and heritage. Al Ossaily has her own segment, Al Oula with Al Oula (First with the First), a nod to her being the first in her field.
“I sit with older and newer generation of cultural and heritage figures in the UAE,” she says.
“I review their books, their poems, their work, and we discuss everything from current to past social cultural issues. It is a lot of fun,” she says. “Every time I go behind the microphone, or sit in front of the camera, it feels like the first time, full of hope and inspiration.”
rghazal@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
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
If you go
The Flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.
The trip
Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Company%C2%A0profile
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
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
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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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
