A tireless campaigner for peace says the death of her son in a terrorist attack in France a decade ago fuelled her desire to create a better world for others.
Moroccan-French activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten, 62, has dedicated her life to helping young people turn away from extremism to honour her son, Imad, who died while bravely standing firm in the face of violence.
Imad Ibn Ziaten was the first of seven murdered by Toulouse terrorist Mohamed Merah in March 2012.
The army paratrooper, 30, was shot at close range after refusing to follow demands to lie down and imploring his killer to put his gun down.
Merah, 23, born in France to Algerian parents, had claimed to belong to Al Qaeda in exchanges with officers trying to persuade him to surrender.
Merah was later killed in a police siege.
Rocked by her son's death, Ms Ziaten went to the social housing units where Merah grew up in search of answers.
What she found disturbed her, but ultimately set her on the humanitarian path she walks every day.
Overcoming hate with love
She was told by a group of teenagers the man who took her son's life was deemed a hero.
“Don’t you watch TV, madame?,” she recalls them telling her. "He’s a hero, a martyr for Islam.”
She decided to fight back – not with anger or hate, but compassion and love.
“When a young person falls into this trap it is because they are suffering," she told The National.
"Suffering starts at a young age – maybe in school or at home – maybe they were never held or loved and that is when they turn towards hatred.”
Ms Ziaten established the Imad Association for Youth and Peace just a month after her son's death, using it as a vehicle to promote tolerance, harmony and dialogue.
Since then she has worked with young people, migrants, prisoners and communities in France and abroad to stop them from being radicalised and to reintroduce them into society.
Her dedication to the cause was recognised in the UAE last year, when she was awarded the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
She used the $1m prize to further invest in her work.
Mother's quest a poignant tribute to son
Ms Ziaten hopes her association is a fitting tribute to her son and the values he stood for.
“Imad gives me the courage to continue,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I hope he is proud of me because of everything I do. All the help I bring to the young today is to see him growing in their eyes.
"He died while on his feet so I need to see the youth on their feet. Everything I do, I see Imad growing through the association and I hope he is proud of me.”
The determined mother is seeking to deliver a ray of hope for society after being submerged into darkness by grief.
“If I didn't see positive results, I wouldn’t have continued,” she said.
“In France, there is more hatred. There is a lot of fracture within the youth and politicians are not helping."
She said bringing happiness to others touches her heart and brings her to tears.
“It calms my pain because pain cannot be healed easily.”
She said receiving the award has been an important moment in her quest.
The awards are announced each February on the International Day for Human Fraternity and celebrate those making a profound contribution to improving lives.
They were established in February 2019 to mark a historic meeting in Abu Dhabi between the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmed Al Tayeb.
“The Zayed Award helped me a lot in order to continue my journey,” she said.
“It was very important to move forward towards the goals I was working towards. I was able to help the migrants and to donate a certain amount and my word is reaching more people.”
“I don’t have financial problems thanks to the Zayed award. It helped me work with youth and even with adults.
“It touched me that I could help people during the pandemic. I was able to do something for humanity. I was able to help a lot of students who had nothing – because of this prize, I was able to help them,” she said.
Ms Ziaten spreads her uplifting message on the streets where young people congregate, in their homes and even gyms as they work out.
“You need to go to them and talk to them from your heart. A young person today needs love and some kind of trust and he needs to know that you are thinking about him,” she said.
“He needs a role model to take him out of this. Especially here in France, we have a lot of problems but I have a lot of courage and I want to continue. I don’t want any young person to fall to extremism.”
Ms Zaiten knows she cannot afford to ease up in her mission to protect future generations from hate-filled ideologies.
“I don’t have even a single day for myself. I dedicated my life to the youth. When I leave the house in the morning, I don’t know when I come back. I know that many of the people I visit may sometimes end up in jail and I am afraid for them and that is why my work cannot stop,” she said.
“Young people want to talk. They are asking for our love and want our help. They need to hear this message of love and that they are the future and this is what I am here for – to give them strength and empower them."
Always in her thoughts and her heart is her son. Her loss has brought great sorrow but also filled her with the strength and resolve to go on for the sake of others.
To Imad, she said: “I love you. I would like to take you in my arms and to see you.
"The love of a son is very hard to forget. He is in my heart and because of him that I am continuing. Imad is my love, he is everything to me. He is an extraordinary son. A son who was happy and we shared so much.
"He was more than a son – a confident, a friend, a brother, my right hand who is not there anymore but the strength within me is still there.
"He is with me everywhere, he gives me the courage to continue till today."
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 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
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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
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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.
'Tell the Machine Goodnight' by Katie Williams
Penguin Randomhouse
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting 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 when 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 led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Kibsons%20Cares
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The 10 Questions
- Is there a God?
- How did it all begin?
- What is inside a black hole?
- Can we predict the future?
- Is time travel possible?
- Will we survive on Earth?
- Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
- Should we colonise space?
- Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?
- How do we shape the future?
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
WHEN TO GO:
September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.
WHERE TO STAY:
Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.
HOW TO GET THERE:
Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Info
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
