Muna Al Gurg has started a new tradition at home – on the December 2 holiday she sits with her father, Easa Saleh Al Gurg, and her teenage daughter, Lamya, and the three of them pore over the many old pictures in their collection that documents the history of the UAE.
Easa, 87, chairman of one of the UAE’s top family businesses, the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, tells his 17-year-old granddaughter stories of his childhood in an era before the discovery of oil, and the union was formed, while Muna, the group’s director, relates her experiences of growing up here. “Who else but us can share these stories with our children?” she asks.
For Lamya, living in present-day Dubai, it is as foreign as the tales in One Thousand and One Nights. Vivid pictures of life in the region – trekking to draw water from a well far away, walking barefoot on the hot sands, and travelling on camels and donkeys before the introduction of cars in the region — emerge during these family discussions.
“For children who can’t even fathom what our parents and grandparents went through to bring us to this stage of development, it can be a wake-up call, a getting-back-to-roots kind of ritual that is sorely needed,” says Muna.
The reason she started this tradition is simple: to make the celebration of the UAE National Day more than just a symbolic one for children of the present generation. “They have no idea what life was like before the nation was formed, or before oil was discovered and life became easier,” says Muna. “We need to tell them about the past and how we came to be who we are.’’
Vision for the future
Muna is not alone. Noted filmmaker Ali F Mostafa believes that celebrating National Day is about more than just parades and carnivals. “For me, the National Day is a far greater celebration than simply a symbolic one,” says the celebrated 31-year-old Emirati, whose first feature City of Life created history as the first homegrown box-office hit. It was popular not only in the UAE, but also at many international film festivals.
“Even though our country is fairly young compared to most others, it still manages to break ground annually with achievements, goals, and infrastructure. Every year we work towards the vision of 2021 and every year we get closer to that goal — to be the best and offer the best that can be globally.”
Finding inspiration
For poet, author, martial arts instructor and entrepreneur Wael Al Sayegh, the flag of the UAE, depicted on a badge on his professional martial-arts instructor’s uniform, is what comes to his mind when he thinks of National Day. “It’s an indelible part of the UAE,” says the 38-year-old who owns the UAE franchise of the UK-based Family Martial Arts Academy, teaching self-defence, life skills and fitness programmes in Dubai.
“National Day is a reminder of how fortunate I am to be part of such an inspirational nation, one that is both open to the world, yet at the same time respectful of its own culture and heritage, a nation that is blessed with leaders who choose to serve their people and inspire them to constantly grow,” he says.
Wael has many fond memories of celebrating National Day as a child. “A road trip with my father, mother and siblings to the wadis of the east coast of the UAE is still fresh in my mind,” he says. “The sight of the beautiful brown rocky mountains all around us, the feeling of cold fresh rain water caressing our feet and the invigorating experience of breathing in clean fresh air can never be forgotten.” For Wael, National Day is a time to look back into the country’s past as well as into the future.
“It’s a time of massive self-reflection and self-honesty for me, where I ask myself the following questions every year: ‘How can I better use my present, my now, to build a better future for myself and my country?’; ‘What do I need to change, stop doing, do more of, or less of, in order to succeed in reaching my goal in the time frame I have set?’” For many, National Day is mostly about the parades and cultural programmes connected with the celebrations. Muna remembers her childhood when “it was a time for celebration.
I used to love going out while the parades were on, in cars and on foot. There was a carnival atmosphere. But now I stay in.” Similarly, Ali now prefers to spend the day with his family. “When I was younger and didn’t have a family of my own, I used to parade [in] the streets all night, by car or on motorcycle,” he says. “Now the parades have become a lot bigger. And what is amazing and truly praiseworthy is that the locals clean up he streets after the parade.
“Last year, for instance, a group of Emiratis created a clean-up movement on Twitter in just a few minutes, which brought out national men and women to the streets to help clean up after the parade. It is a beautiful thing to do, and will accompany every celebration.” For all Emiratis, National Day is also an occasion to reflect on their contribution to society. “I feel blessed to have been able to be a part of the pioneering group of Emiratis in creating the cinema movement in the UAE,” says Ali.
“I am also very proud to have been able to make a film like City of Life which truly helped pave the way for future Emirati films. “The UAE has the potential to become the leading hub for filmmaking, not only in the Arab world but in Asia. Film makes an enormous contribution towards the country’s arts and cultural programmes. It is a very powerful medium that has eventually been understood… I take it as my national duty to help build this industry through to fruition of being the best it can be.”
Wael sees his personal growth as an extension of the nation’s progress. “After many years of searching, testing and experimenting, I have finally found my true calling and purpose in life,” he says. “I am now truly serving my country and its people in the best way I know I can… With the support of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development, and the UAE Ministry of Youth and Sport, I have opened the very first Family Martial Arts Leadership Academy in the UAE.
Family Martial Arts is a world-class leadership facility that teaches children, families and adults to be the best they can be and reach their full potential in all areas of their lives. “I teach these skills alongside a cutting-edge martial arts, fitness and self-defence programme and the combination of these skills that I teach creates happy, successful individuals who live their lives at a level of success and fulfilment that most people can only dream of.
The academy is my gift to the UAE and its people.” Wael feels the UAE and its people have progressed very rapidly. “The reason is we are open to the world and the world is open to us,” he says. “This allows us maximum leverage to learn and grow. To sustain this level of growth we have to equip people with the inner strength and fortitude required to not only maintain the level of growth, but to increase and expand on it into the future. I add value by empowering the people of the UAE to be leaders of their own lives and to champion their own dreams.”
Spreading appreciation
Muna believes that while her generation knows the UAE’s history and benefits from it, “there should be more of an effort to impart it to the present generation of Emiratis, as well as the expatriates who contribute to its economy. “There are some schools that take children to museums and teach them the history of the land. All schools should adopt such practices. We can have video interviews with old people about the times past, the important people who where there when it all happened.
Seeing and learning is certainly a more effective way of learning than just from books. Families can initiate trips too, and develop group activities to keep memories alive for our children.” Muna wants to help her country by giving the less fortunate a chance to study and get ahead. The chairperson of the not-for-profit Young Arab Leaders UAE chapter is keen on mentoring youth and makes time for charitable work through the Al Gurg Foundation. “The idea is to render help to those who need it in a sustainable manner,” she says.
“I am approachable, I believe in mentoring the youth, and that is the way I seek to serve my country, apart from our business and charitable ventures.” A patron of the arts, Muna is also keen to see that art, which has taken off in a big way in the region, reaches the public. “We will definitely become the art hub of the region in time,” she says. “But we also need to take art to the public, rather than have it cloistered in galleries and museums. We have to look at it on a macro level; after all the public has to see the art. Art in public places is the way to go.”
For these dynamic Emirati professionals, National Day is more than just a day to celebrate. It is a reiteration of their duty towards their nation. “I celebrate it by living a life that demonstrates the values the country holds dear, all day, all year round,” says Wael. He sums it up succinctly: “For me, every day is National Day!”
