Dubai: Expatriates in the UAE are mourning with the rest of the country in remembrance of the 45 fallen servicemen in Yemen.
South African expatriate Kieran Ballard-Treemer, 38, lauded the UAE for celebrating the martyrdom of the servicemen and highlighting that their death was not in vain.
“It is a privilege to be here as an expatriate to see UAE leaders personally seeing the servicemen’s mums and talking to them about their sons’ sacrifices,” Ballard-Treemer, a music teacher, said.
“Here in the Middle East, it is an honour to be able to fight for your country. It is terribly sad news because the men who died were very young,” she added.
Gautam Patel, a long-term Indian expatriate in the UAE, hailed the young men’s sacrifice.
“It is a noble thing to die for one’s country especially in the line of one’s duty. Somebody had to do it in the service of his country, it is just unfortunate that it had to be them.”
Albert Alba, a Filipino expatriate who has called the UAE his home for more than a decade, agreed.
“While loss of life seems to be an inevitable risk in any armed conflict just like those in the Philippines, it is still disturbing that among the early casualties in this operation are some of the UAE’s finest soldiers,” Alba told Gulf News.
“I therefore wish to express my deepest sympathies to the UAE, its citizens and the families of these slain soldiers. It is also my fervent hope and prayer that no more lives of UAE soldiers will be lost,” he added.
But some expatriates are equally disturbed and could not remove the images of the fallen men in their heads.
Palestinian Sarah G., who considers herself a citizen of this country having been born and brought up in the UAE, is one of them. “It is horrible for these Emirati servicemen to be taken away with that brutality. It’s something to be mournful for. Any loss of human life is a very sad situation,” she said.
“It’s a big loss for the country. As a member of the Pakistani community, we feel very sad. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers here. As a community, we extend full support to the UAE. We have already extended our condolences,” Dr Faisal Ikram, General Secretary of the Pakistan Association Dubai, told Gulf News.
“It’s a time of unity for the nation. I personally believe this only brings the nation together,” Dr Ikram said, adding the Pakistani community has heeded the call to donate blood to help the cause.
