Some gloom, some cheer ... but hope springs eternal

On Friday, September 4, the UAE lost 45 servicemen who were performing their duty as part of the coalition in Yemen, fighting Al Houthi rebels in support of Yemen’s legitimate government. This was the largest single tragedy to ever hit the UAE as a nation, and it shocked the entire country.

President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan led the nation in mourning the brave soldiers who were fighting to support the rule of law, stability and legitimate government in a country that has a direct bearing on the stability and security of its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbours.

What followed was an extraordinary period as the grieving enveloped the leadership, families of the martyrs and their friends, supported by the entire population.

This grief led to a remarkable upwelling of pride in the achievements of the armed forces and a major re-affirmation of the UAE’s national identity and willingness to stand up for the principles it believes in and the country’s readiness to take extraordinary steps to support its words with action.

The UAE’s Flag Day on November 2 was marked with particular force, and on November 30, the new Commemoration Day, the nation honoured those who had died in the service of the country. A nationwide minute of silence was held at 11am.

The way the UAE handled this tragedy and its determination to continue fighting in Yemen illustrate how the 44-year-old nation has matured into a confident society, at ease with itself, as its pursues its own peaceful social development agenda, while also taking up its regional responsibilities in supporting stable governments, rule of law and continuity of nation states.

This calm confidence distinguishes the UAE from many other Arab states, which have either collapsed or have been overcome by violence. This also allows the UAE to focus on its long-term goals of social development as it seeks important progress like greater innovation from its people, less carbon emissions and a more diverse economy, integrated with the global community. 2015 was also the year when the UAE formally launched its preparations for Expo 2020, which will celebrate its position as a major global hub.

The chaos in Iraq and Syria continued unabated during the year. Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) continued to hold large territories in both states, although counter-offensives in Iraq made slow progress during the year.

The Syrian civil war dragged on and the entry of Russian forces in support of the regime was a major escalation, which forced the international community to look again at how it could rebuild some kind of an alliance amongst the opposition groups and also try to reinvigorate the Geneva process to end the war.

A further factor was the continuing Iranian interference in several Arab states and despite the major achievement of the global community finally getting Iran to abide by international norms overs its nuclear programme, Iranian activity remained a dangerous force.

Its support for Al Houthi rebels in Yemen is a direct threat to the GCC states, as is its support for cells in Bahrain. Its overt support of Shiite groups in Iraq have reinforced a sectarian identity in Baghdad, while its active support for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has been a major factor in the murderous Syrian civil war dragging on for so long.

The deepening chaos failed to worry the international powers as it should have because they were distracted by their own problems. For the first half of the year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel led the European Union to be totally focused on saving the euro and keeping Greece in the system, as years of bad management finally came to a head, forcing a brutal settlement on the Athens government.

But the fragile consensus of Eurozone members was further assaulted when a huge wave of refugees from the collapsed states of Libya and Syria (and further afield) hit Europe, causing a huge humanitarian crisis.

As hundreds of thousands of unfortunate families fleeing violence sought refuge, Europe split. Some states were more open to the potential of these new citizens led by countries like Germany and Sweden, while others collapsed into anti-Muslim rhetoric and xenophobia as they did their best to hide the problem and refuse to find a solution.

Terror continued to hit Europe, most obviously in France, which suffered two murderous attacks — one in January, when the magazine Charlie Hebdo was attacked; and again in November when a coordinated series of bombs and shootings killed 130 people.

Across the Atlantic, the buffoon Donald Trump talked his way into becoming the Republican frontrunner for the United States presidential election, dragging the American political discourse far to the right, which has made prejudiced bigotry seem normal, to the shame of the more mainstream politicians who seemed lost, rather than candidates to run the world’s sole remaining superpower.

But on a more hopeful note, in September, pictures from Nasa’s orbiter around Mars electrified the world with proof that liquid water flows intermittently on the planet — an important requirement for any possibility of life.

This was just after the UAE had announced its plans to send its own spacecraft to Mars by 2021, the first Arab nation to venture into deep space and an exciting affirmation of the country’s determination to think beyond the immediate.