When Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, sought to unite the emirates in 1971 the scale of the task was immense. And one of his biggest challenges was to unite the Bedouins. It took a man such as Sheikh Zayed to convince tribes to abandon decades of nomadic living, commit to belonging to one place and believe in the dream of the UAE.
Although most had barely spoken to him, the first President of the UAE was such a formidable force that his ideas were enough to bring together camel herders, pearl divers and so many more from all corners of the emirates.
He built houses for them, schools to educate their children and hospitals to treat their sick.
Although many could barely read or write and were set in their ways, they believed in a man they barely knew.
He was younger than most of them but his strength of leadership made him instantly known as "Baba Zayed".
To mark the UAE's National Day, The National interviewed six people who lived through those days of change.
Mohammed Al Shamsi was born in 1935 in Abu Dhabi. The pearl diving trade that sustained generations of people had collapsed. People eked out an existence through fishing, camel herding and date cultivation.
Hushed talk of oil was temporarily forgotten as war clouds descended from Germany. The future looked uncertain.
"The situation was bad,” says Mr Al Shamsi, 85. "Everyone was dependent on God foremost and on himself or herself.
“There was no country, no government and only tribes. The head of each tribe was a sheikh and people worked on raising their camels, tending their palm trees and in the summer we would go to cooler places.
"That is how we lived. If one of us wanted to build a house out of palm fronds, then all the neighbours and his loved ones would get together and help.”
When Mr Al Shamsi was 16, he joined the British armed forces. He worked for them from the late 1950s until 1962, when he moved to Abu Dhabi city for work.
He recalls the British having huge respect for Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, and his determination to unify the seven emirates.
Like so many other Bedouin, Mr Al Shamsi was in the desert when unification happened. It was, after all, an era when word still spread from person to person and village to village.
Mr Al Shamsi’s voice breaks when he remembers Sheikh Zayed and what he did for his people. Tears fall from his eyes.
“Sheikh Zayed brought us together under the light. When Zayed decided to be independent of the British, he didn’t do it with force – the British never harmed us, they supported us and stood by our side," he says.
"Zayed was also respected by the British forces. I worked with the British forces and I saw it first hand. They supported him."
Mr Al Shamsi recounts how Sheikh Zayed systematically improved the country, such as building a modern airport and establishing the Federal National Council.
He also remembers the actions of Sheikh Zayed during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when an oil embargo was imposed on the West.
Sheikh Zayed said Arab petrol was not more precious than Arab blood.
Today, everything has changed for the people of the UAE. Sheikh Zayed led the country on the path to progress.
It is a modern country and the foundations Sheikh Zayed built are being strengthened by today's Rulers.
“And I swear to you his children are the same. Haven’t you seen Mohamed bin Zayed [Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces]. I have no personal gain apart from saying the truth," Mr Al Shamsi says.
"Today, as Emiratis, we are proud of the family, this government and this country. If you ask me how life was before, it was miserable.
"There was no country or government or anything. People had no education or knew anything about life. Today my son is a pilot when I didn't have anything as a child. This is a blessing.”
_________________
Sheikh Zayed and the story of a nation
*This story first appeared in The National in 2020 but has been republished to mark the UAE's 50th National Day.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 6 Huddersfield Town 1
Man City: Agüero (25', 35', 75'), Jesus (31'), Silva (48'), Kongolo (84' og)
Huddersfield: Stankovic (43')
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UAE v Zimbabwe A, 50 over series
Fixtures
Thursday, Nov 9 - 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 11 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
Monday, Nov 13 – 2pm, Dubai International Stadium
Thursday, Nov 16 – 2pm, ICC Academy, Dubai
Saturday, Nov 18 – 9.30am, ICC Academy, Dubai
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The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Our House, Louise Candlish,
Simon & Schuster
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
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2021 World Triathlon Championship Series
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Tim Paine (captain), Sean Abbott, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
