Dubai: The 30th of November has been designated as Martyr’s Day in memory of and in tribute to our fallen heroes, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan ordered on Wednesday.
Martyr’s Day will be a national holiday, according to the President’s order. The martyrs “offered their lives so as to keep the UAE flag flying aloft while they were performing their national duties within and outside the country, in civilian, military and humanitarian fields,” the President’s order stated.
Shaikh Khalifa’s order came to honour the legacy of the UAE heroes whose sacrifices have not only made the nation proud but also helped to alleviate injustice, especially in the case of our heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, in support of the Yemeni people’s struggle to regain their country back from the tyranny of the Al Houthi militia and its allies.
This country was built and being preserved by the sacrifices of the patriot men and women who have given all.
From the first blood in 1971 when Salem Suhail Bin Khamis, who was shot dead by the Iranian invaders when he refused their orders to lower the UAE flag on the occupied island of Greater Tunb, to the recent martyrdom of Corporal Abdul Rahman Al Beloushi whom we lost as he performed his national duty as part of the UAE forces in Operation Restoring Hope, led by Saudi Arabia, to support the legitimate government in Yemen, our martyrs are not just numbers or a name on a news brief.
They are heroes who are being celebrated as national icons.
They are milestones in our nation’s march.
The special care given to them and their families by the country’s leadership and the UAE people reflects their prominent status in the national consciousness.
Our armed forces are engaged in operations in Yemen, in support of the struggle of the Yemeni people and its legitimate government.
Thus it is natural that we lose lives on the field.
But these precious lives are not wasted. They are celebrated as champions of the UAE’s ideals.
