UAE: Witness to a modern miracle

Today, December 2 is a special day for all UAE residents. It is a celebration of the 37th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates, a young nation that in less than four decades has etched an indelible mark on the map.

I feel privileged to have witnessed its phenomenal transformation first hand and although I no longer live here a little piece of my heart will always remain.

My first visit to the UAE was in 1975 when I slept under a mosquito net at the Sharjah Carlton, then one of the country's most sophisticated hotels along with the Abu Dhabi Hilton and the newly-opened Dubai Inter-Continental.

Very few people had even heard of the recently-formed federation or the Trucial States as the seven emirates were formerly called. Sharjah was probably the best-known for having been a staging point for Imperial Airways' flying boats en route to India.

In those days, Abu Dhabi was beginning to emerge from a fishing/pearling village into a thriving oil town, while Dubai was building its reputation for trade. Indeed, Dubai Airport was a favourite of the airline community due to its range of inexpensive designer perfumes and sunglasses.

A tour of the town itself, consisting of just a few good roads around the Creek, the Al Maktoum Hospital, the old Bastakia and Shindagha areas and a few souqs, rarely took more than an hour or two.

Crime was relatively unknown and vendors in the gold souq thought nothing about hanging their glittering wares in the open air. Dubai was a city of contrasts even then. Built literally on sand was a chic ladies boutique selling gowns that wouldn't have looked out of place in Bond Street or the Champs Elysees.

Fast forwarding to 1983 when I flew to Dubai to work for a year that stretched into 15, the miracle had begun. On exiting Dubai Airport, I seriously thought I had deplaned at the wrong destination, so great was the contrast from eight years earlier.

It's hard to believe, I know, but then the UAE was still considered a hardship posting. On the contrary, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

Foresight

This was a massively expanded town, nay a city, lit so brilliantly night became day and towering over this fairyland was the 39-storey World Trade Centre, built in 1978 by the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, when people around feared it would stand for ever more as an unused white elephant.

It was the same with another brainchild of Shaikh Rashid - the biggest dry dock in the Gulf, which opened in 1983. In the event, he proved the naysayers wrong. He had a dream and he was determined to bring it into fruition. He had the foresight to know that once the infrastructure was in place people would come. And they did.

My home in the 80s was Chicago Beach Village, a gated community of 167 villas on the Jumeirah Beach Road, very close to where the world's most luxurious hotel the Burj Al Arab stands today.

On either side were vast expanses of beach interspersed with a fishing village and modest villas on one side; a scattering of palaces on the other.

Traffic was minimal and vehicles shared the Beach Road with goats, chickens and the occasional itinerant camel. Strollers would stop to purchase wafer-thin piping hot Iranian bread topped with honey or be lucky enough to be invited to participate in local marriage celebrations.

Those of us who were around at the time saw the UAE evolve seemingly at the speed of light.

It wasn't long before what was a best-kept secret became a fledgling tourist destination thanks to the establishment of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce and to the efforts of Dubai Duty Free, which sponsored and organised world class sporting events.

On May 25, 1985 Emirates was launched with just three leased airplanes. I still treasure a certificate that was given to those on the inaugural flight that circled the Gulf before returning to base. Incredibly, Emirates now flies to 91 destinations in 55 countries and is the eighth largest airline in the world.

At the end of 1997, I left the UAE with a heavy heart to put down roots elsewhere and didn't return until 2004. Once again, the country was almost unrecognisable.

Its name was on everyone's lips; international celebrities were flocking to its shores and it had surely surpassed the expectations of Shaikh Rashid and the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who together spearheaded the UAE federation.

Unfortunately, there are those among the foreign press who love to sneer at the UAE's achievements after enjoying a freebie junket at someone else's expense. They know who they are and I would unequivocally say to them that they are wrong.

There is no other country in the world that has achieved so much in so little time; that is safe and secure and where people of all nationalities live and work side-by-side in perfect harmony. I know. I was there.

Congratulations to Their Highnesses the Rulers, the Emiratis, the residents and everyone who sincerely loves the UAE. May its star shine ever bright!

Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs.