Nationals and expatriates share fond memories

Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Prominent personalities, UAE nationals and expatriates expressed their fond memories of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

UAE nationals stressed the late leader's eternal effect on the country, as the founder of the federation and a man of generosity, while expatriates praised his lifelong commitment to the UAE's development.

Dr Ali Bin Abdullah Al Ka'abi, Minister of Labour, said he will continue to be remembered by the UAE "without a doubt, as the father of this nation, who founded this nation" praising his son and successor President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his contribution to the UAE.

He said that Shaikh Zayed will be remembered by UAE nationals and expatriates for generations. "You feel Shaikh Zayed wherever you go in the UAE, whether it is through the laws of this country, through its development or [other areas] like agriculture. He's everywhere", he said.

Ahmad Al Sayegh, UAE businessman and the managing director of the Emirates Foundation, said that he considered Shaikh Zayed a father figure because he "looked after all of us on an individual basis".

"If you want to know why everybody loves him, it's because everyone was touched by him. You can only do that if you are in touch with your humanity and express it, which he did", he said.

One of the first architects in the UAE, Zaki Al Humsi, said he met Shaikh Zayed once, when he presented the plans for a prominent Abu Dhabi mosque to him in 1967. "He asked me about it and I explained to him. He then praised it," he said.

UAE national student Humaid Harib said he will be remembered for "putting a smile on people's faces" by building homes for the homeless and treating the sick.

"The one thing I will remember about him is that he never said no to anyone. He was a people's man who was a member of the community before being the head of a state," he said.

Egyptian national Hussam Abdul Hamid remembers the day of Shaikh Zayed's death well.

"It said that if every nation had a conscience, Shaikh Zayed would be the conscience of this nation, and since a conscience never dies neither will Shaikh Zayed," he said.