Dubai: An online holiday video by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines promoting racial harmony is being praised by Dubai residents for a unity message that mirrors the UAE’s longstanding tolerance among its 11.3 million residents regardless of race, colour or creed.
The holiday video, posted on YouTube by KLM airlines, reached upwards of 600,000 online YouTube views by Monday afternoon.
“The holidays are all about being together, but what if you’re alone at the airport?” the KLM video queried.
Its answer to the proverbial question of being alone was to serve a “Christmas buffet” at the airport to people from nationalities all over the world “bringing people together for Christmas”.
Officials with KLM could not be reached by Gulf News for comment by deadline on Monday.
Dubai resident Mariam Mohammad, 28, lauded the video for portraying a positive moment of unity.
“It’s certainly a good way of making passengers feel less lonely over the holidays, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for other companies to follow that idea and promote tolerance. Not everyone is lucky enough to be with their family around Christmas or New Year, regardless of whether they are stuck at the airport or not,” she told Gulf News on Monday.
Abu Dhabi resident Hussain Ebrahim said: “I smiled when I saw it because it made me think that no matter where you’re from, people can always come together and celebrate. We’re all travelling together through the same airport but you’re not just sitting next to a stranger any more, but a new friend. It also reinforces the idea of how we should celebrate the festive season because the holidays are about giving, and being kind to one another.”
Melissa Bayik, a brand designer and consultant in Dubai, said the unity message was a good way to the end the year.
"KLM did a great job in keeping the magic alive this Christmas with their experiential marketing campaign. Those lucky enough to take part in the pop-up buffet, will look back on KLM, equally on Amsterdam with a smile. Great move to increase brand loyalty, and a pretty good deed from KLM. As the UAE enters a year of giving, I anticipate seeing similar experiences pop up in Dubai,” she said.
The UAE is the world’s first country to draft a charter of tolerance. The UAE Charter of Tolerance, Coexistence and Peace — to fight against rising racism around the world — was announced in October by Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance.
Shaikha Lubna — who led the UAE’s first tolerance parade on November 18 through Downtown Dubai — said the UAE is home to more than 200 nationalities who live in peace and harmony.
“The UAE government is constantly promoting harmony and peace, and a cosmopolitan diverse society, to gain strength and show to the world the best mixture of ethnicities, religions and cultures, at a time where many divisive issues threaten global peace and plague modern world,” she said, adding that “the UAE is eager to build peaceful inter-religious dialogue”.
