Lalaine Blanco lost her son and her husband in the 10 years she has lived in the UAE, but she says Ramadan has helped her to persevere.
Ms Blanco, 40, is a member of the Church of Christ, but says seeing Muslims come closer to God in the holy month also increases her bonds with God.
She left her sons Joshua, 5, and Jhon Carlo, 7, behind in the Philippines with her husband to work for two Emirati families on the outskirts of the city in Beda Zayed.
After a year of working in Abu Dhabi, she had a call from her family telling her that her youngest boy had fallen on his head while playing in school. Soon after, Joshua died of a brain haemorrhage.
Ms Blanco rushed home and discovered her husband had been having an affair with a woman who had since become pregnant.
She had lost her son and husband for whom she had moved to the UAE to financially support.
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Read more:
My Ramadan: An expat fasts for understanding
Discovering the true meaning of Ramadan
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“I came here to help him and he used that as an excuse to cheat,” she says. “I now live for my remaining son Jhon Carlo,” who is now 17.
When she returned to the UAE from that visit, it was Ramadan.
“It was so peaceful in the afternoons and seeing how all the Muslims were close and devoted to God strengthened my own relationship with God,” she says.
“I don’t miss Joshua during Ramadan. He is always with me and I miss him all the time but Ramadan helped me get through the pain.”
The month is not without its challenges for domestic workers, who work hard to prepare feasts for fasting families.
But Ms Blanco says that unlike many housemaids, she loves Ramadan.
“I love it because of all the sweets,” she says. “Oh, and the Vimto, which I only see during Ramadan. Why only Ramadan? It should be all year.”
She says that when she arrived in the UAE she had never heard of Ramadan.
“When I first came I heard all the Filipinas and Indonesians complain about Ramadan,” she says. “‘Wait and see. You will not sleep and there is too much work’.”
“At every house, all the Indonesian and Sri Lankan cooks and Filipino maids complain all the time about Ramadan. For me it is the same as the rest of the year. Only the hours change. I work at night instead of the day.
“But I am lucky. It is because my job is to take care of the kids and not cook.”
Iftar, to Ms Blanco, is a bit of a conundrum.
“Why is there so much food? Everywhere there is food and then it gets thrown in the garbage at the end of the day. Isn’t that haram?” she asks.
“And the biryani and harees. Why is it biryani and harees every day? I can’t eat that every day.”
But a large variety of sweets compensate for the repetition: “So many different kinds.”
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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The specs
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On sale: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
