Today
is my seventh UAE National Day in Dubai.
It
is with thanks and joy that I join in celebrating my host country’s 41st
anniversary.
I
arrived in Dubai just before National Day in 2006. Since, it has since been a
day to mark both milestones and an occasion for nationals and residents to
count their blessings in a country that is happy, refined, united and
supportive of its leaders.
Sunday,
December 2, marks the formal independence of the UAE from the United Kingdom
and the 1971 unification of its seven component emirates – namely, Abu Dhabi,
Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Al Fujairah.
The
“Spirit of the Union” is derived from the vision and leadership of the father
of the nation, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It lives on through
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice
President and Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, and their five fellow members of the Federal Supreme Council – Sheikh
Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi (ruler Sharjah), Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al
Sharqi (ruler of Al Fujairah), Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi (ruler of Ras Al
Khaimah), Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla (ruler of Umm Al Quwain), and Sheikh
Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi (ruler of Ajman).
I
landed in Dubai on Friday afternoon after a two-week holiday in Beirut. I was greeted
with black skies, thunder, lightning and torrential rain -- all signs of khair and baraka for National Day.
Dubai
and the six emirates are set to celebrate National Day after a month-long
buildup. Public roads, villas, apartments and office buildings, gardens, parks,
cars… practically everything is decked out in the colors of the UAE national
flag, under the slogan “Spirit of the Nation.” And, us expatriates, are giving
thanks for having a home away from home. This has been profusely expressed on
Social Media platforms.
In
the words of our beloved
Sheikh Mo -- His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of
Dubai: “One main reason behind the success
of our Union is the one-team spirit, found in every citizen. The way forward is
to strengthen this spirit. We are one nation, with one constitution, one flag,
one army, and one president -- Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. Everyone, everywhere,
must work hard as one team, one spirit, with one vision, and unified effort. That
is the true Spirit of Union.”
 |
| The late Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid |
Sheikh Mo says on his Facebook page: “We continue today talking about Spirit of Union. Last
year, I spoke about a meeting between Zayed and Rashid that eventually led to
the Union. Sheikh Zayed told Sheikh Rashid: ‘We laid the foundation, now we can
build the wall.’ I never forgot such words, and later I understood what they
meant. Zayed and Rashid were not dreaming of power or positions. They wanted to
build a nation, with an army, airports, hospitals and universities. They
achieved their vision. This is the Spirit of Union -- to have a vision and the inspired
energy to achieve it. This is how history is made.”
 |
| Sheikh Mo's post on his Facebook page |
“…I would like to share some thoughts and ideas under the
banner of Spirit of the Union,” Sheikh Mo added. “First, I say to the youth of
our beloved nation, the story of UAE is not limited to 41 years only. Our
history stretches back thousands of years. Read about Umm al-Nar Civilization that goes back to more than 2000 BC, Jalfar in the 4th century and
the remains in Jumeirah from the Umayyad era. Read about the stories of heroism
of our people while facing the foreign invasions in the past few centuries.
Knowing our history is a key part of the Spirit that ties us together. The
great stories of our people will continue well into the future…”
 |
| Sheikh Mo plants a "Union Tree" |
Sheikh
Mo launched a tree-planting campaign in the Spirit of the Union at Union House,
on Jumeirah Beach Road, where the first UAE flag was raised 41 years ago. He
said, “I hope we all use National Day to plant a ‘Union Tree,’ taking care of
it and maintaining it just like our Union. I also hope you share with me, on
Twitter, photos of the ‘Union Trees’ you planted with your families and friends
in your homes or workplaces. We will share these images with each other online
and show the world, how much we love UAE and our Union.”
On
Sheikh Mo’s advice, I went in search of information about Umm
al-Nar. I hadn’t heard of it before.
The island of Umm al-Nar, close to the capital, Abu Dhabi, has
given its name to one of the major periods in the history of southeastern
Arabia -- the Umm al-Nar Civilization.
It
turns out the island, first excavated in 1959 by a Danish team and subsequently
surveyed by archaeologists from the UAE and Iraq, yielded finds dating back to
around 2500-2000 BC when it was involved in fishing and the smelting of copper,
exported to the empires of Mesopotamia.
Archaeologists
discovered a cemetery of about 50 above-ground tombs. Some are round -- 6-12
meters in diameter, several meters high -- and divided into chambers accessed
through small, trapezium-shaped entrances. Each chamber was designed to contain
several bodies. The ring walls of the larger buildings were sometimes decorated
with carvings of Oryx, ox, snakes and camels.
Much
can be determined about the activities of the islanders from the objects found
within the tombs and throughout the settlement area.
 |
| One of the tombs at Umm al-Nar |
These
include personal adornments – necklaces, jewelry, gold hairpins; copper weapons
and imported red pottery vessels crafted and decorated with elaborate designs.
Fish hooks and net sinkers clearly illustrate the people’s dependence on the
sea for food.
Dugongs
or sea-cows seem to have been a staple of the diet and the hide and oil were
also used. Now a protected species, dugongs must have once been plentiful, for
many of their bones have been identified from the organic material found on the
site.
It
is almost certain the region underwent a significant climate change since there
is no archaeological evidence of large stone buildings on the coast and islands
off Abu Dhabi after around 2000 BC. The Bronze Age people could maybe not
survive in the increasingly arid environment and developed a more nomadic
lifestyle, returning to the islands only during the cooler winter season. This
is supported by the analysis of the bones of birds no longer native to the
region. These include the giant heron (Ardea bennuides),
now extinct and known only from this site; the Darter (Anhinga melanogaster), now found no nearer than the
marshes of the Tigris/Euphrates Delta; and Bruce’s green pigeon (Treron aff. waalia) which is found no closer than
Dhofar in Oman.
Since the late 1970s, Umm al-Nar has been the site of the UAE's
first oil refinery, which refines crude from the onshore fields of the Abu
Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (ADCO), for local consumption.
Associated with the refinery is a chlorine plant, while there is also a major
water desalination and power generation complex on the island. But the
archaeological sites are carefully protected and preserved.
The Umm al-Nar Civilization expanded to settlements on the island
of Ghanadha, between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In 1986, two burial sites were
uncovered in Al Muwaihat in Ajman as well as evidence of the civilization in the
village of Bidya north of Fujairah, Shamal in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Dur in Umm Al Quwain, Al Sofouh in Dubai
and Maliha in Sharjah.
 |
| Some of the Tweets and Facebook posts |
As
one of the tens of thousands of expatriates who were lucky to land on the
sunny, blissful and safe shores of the United Arab Emirates, I wish the
country, its leaders and its people a Happy National Day.
