Following the demise of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, social media users turned to Facebook and Twitter to express sympathy for the people of Saudi Arabia as well as the sorrow of losing yet another father figure in the region.
On Gulf News’ Facebook page, the passing of King Abdullah received a huge response with more than 400 shares, 1,156 likes and nearly 200 comments. Readers used Facebook as a platform to offer their condolences and to speak of his achievements in the country and the region.
Mohammad Arsalan Majeed said: “Farewell to the King of humanity and a beloved leader for Saudis, especially for women and what he did for them. We loved when he spoke wisely and spontaneously and we will miss that ... It is a big loss to all of us — rest in peace.”
Likewise Ricky Manarang said: “Rest in peace King Abdullah — you will always be remembered ...”
On Twitter, eight out of ten trending hashtags were related to the passing of King Abdullah. ‘Zayed nation’ and ‘Grief of the Kingdom is grief of UAE’ are two hashtags that were created by the people of the UAE to unite with their neighbours in mourning for the loss of ‘a second father’ as most Twitter users expressed. They posted pictures of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father and first president, with King Abdullah. Users sympathised with the people of Saudi Arabia and said that the passing of the King is just as much of a sad day in the UAE as it is in the Kingdom.
Twitter user @888sultan888 said: “Rest in peace King Abdullah.”
It is evident that the passing of King Abdullah has upset the people of the region. Tweep @nohalome described it in the following way: “Sad night, dark sky, lost father, mourning people, crying nation — rest in peace”
‘Demise of King Abdullah’ was another trending hashtag in commemoration of the King, in which Saudi Twitter users used to share the pain. Tweep @vip_9_s said: “You left this world, but you will always remain in our hearts. Have mercy on our father and grant him a place in heaven.”
