Life's Lessons
Over the time-frame of the last two days, the UAE has witnessed one of the most tragic events our community has ever seen. The story of a boy lost at sea, only to be found dead over 36 hours later. الله يرحمه. The story has affected me and you, and everyone around us. Right now there is nothing we can do but pray for Abdulla, his family, and his friends. Despite that, there are a couple of things that we can learn from this heartbreaking incident. After all, we witness events such as this so we can learn from them.
My mother's first reaction to hearing the unfortunate news was surprise and shock. "Wasn't he wearing a life jacket?" she said. Sadly, the greater majority of our country's youth don't think twice about their safety. In summer, we begin to hear about stories similar to this one, stories about jet ski accidents and water sports. In our few, short months of winter, we hear countless stories about dirt bike accidents. Not to mention the car accidents that happen all year round. This happens every single year. We lose young people each year because they forget to think about the risks of what they are doing, and what safety measures they should take.
Sometimes it is their own fault, sometimes it is someone else's; but it is always fate. However, it is not logical to go about the most dangerous of activities carelessly, and later blame fate for something serious that might occur. So please, we've had enough accidents, we've had enough injuries, and we've had enough deaths. If the stories of all those we've heard of before haven't changed your habits yet, let this story change you. Wear your seatbelt when you drive, wear your life jacket when you're at sea, wear your helmet when you're on your bike. You never know what happens, it's best to be prepared.
The second thing we can learn from this sad event, is not that sad actually. What happened got the whole country worrying, praying, and crying over the loss of Abdulla. It got a large group of young boys and men to gather for the sole reason of finding the missing boy. It got Shaikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed to show up and lead all the divers in the search. It got Abdulla's friends all over the place, trying desperately to do everything they could to save their dear friend; not to mention the boy's family. True, there was no happy ending. But look at the bigger picture. The entire Emirati community of almost one million, worrying about a single boy; everyone doing their share of what they could offer to help save him.
Maybe we were unable to save him, but that lies within the hands of Allah. That is not for us to decide. However, what is clear here is how close-knit our society really is. As Emiratis we've got something many societies do not have, and that is our love for each other. During no other time have I seen what happened in these past two days happen. Our community is like a huge emotional support system, where mostly, social media is the medium of communication. During times like these, you begin to see the truth. You see it clearly. And the truth about our society? We've got a loving, caring, supportive, compassionate, and loyal community. What more could we ask for?
Many would argue here, and start counting the negative aspects of our society. Normally, I would too. Anyways, there's no such thing as a utopian society; there's got to be something wrong somewhere. But today, I'd have to disagree. As long as we know we've got a community thats loving, loyal, and supportive, I would have to say that anything's possible. We don't need perfection if we've got affection. The barriers are broken now. So well done everyone, you proved yourself worthy of being part of this great society.
All in all, I can only end this by saying: pray for Abdulla, his family, and friends. Don't forget to stay safe.
My mother's first reaction to hearing the unfortunate news was surprise and shock. "Wasn't he wearing a life jacket?" she said. Sadly, the greater majority of our country's youth don't think twice about their safety. In summer, we begin to hear about stories similar to this one, stories about jet ski accidents and water sports. In our few, short months of winter, we hear countless stories about dirt bike accidents. Not to mention the car accidents that happen all year round. This happens every single year. We lose young people each year because they forget to think about the risks of what they are doing, and what safety measures they should take.
Sometimes it is their own fault, sometimes it is someone else's; but it is always fate. However, it is not logical to go about the most dangerous of activities carelessly, and later blame fate for something serious that might occur. So please, we've had enough accidents, we've had enough injuries, and we've had enough deaths. If the stories of all those we've heard of before haven't changed your habits yet, let this story change you. Wear your seatbelt when you drive, wear your life jacket when you're at sea, wear your helmet when you're on your bike. You never know what happens, it's best to be prepared.
The second thing we can learn from this sad event, is not that sad actually. What happened got the whole country worrying, praying, and crying over the loss of Abdulla. It got a large group of young boys and men to gather for the sole reason of finding the missing boy. It got Shaikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed to show up and lead all the divers in the search. It got Abdulla's friends all over the place, trying desperately to do everything they could to save their dear friend; not to mention the boy's family. True, there was no happy ending. But look at the bigger picture. The entire Emirati community of almost one million, worrying about a single boy; everyone doing their share of what they could offer to help save him.
Maybe we were unable to save him, but that lies within the hands of Allah. That is not for us to decide. However, what is clear here is how close-knit our society really is. As Emiratis we've got something many societies do not have, and that is our love for each other. During no other time have I seen what happened in these past two days happen. Our community is like a huge emotional support system, where mostly, social media is the medium of communication. During times like these, you begin to see the truth. You see it clearly. And the truth about our society? We've got a loving, caring, supportive, compassionate, and loyal community. What more could we ask for?
Many would argue here, and start counting the negative aspects of our society. Normally, I would too. Anyways, there's no such thing as a utopian society; there's got to be something wrong somewhere. But today, I'd have to disagree. As long as we know we've got a community thats loving, loyal, and supportive, I would have to say that anything's possible. We don't need perfection if we've got affection. The barriers are broken now. So well done everyone, you proved yourself worthy of being part of this great society.
All in all, I can only end this by saying: pray for Abdulla, his family, and friends. Don't forget to stay safe.
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