Girls of the Emirates

By Noura Alkaabi

We are born with purity of flowers, we fall in love with out dreams, life teaches us what majestic universities have failed to show us, therefore we become the sun that lights up the universes with love, peace and knowledge, free you captivated soul within you to become a shining sun.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781716631962

Book preview

Ka’abi

Is it possible for a flower to contain life and death between its petals at the same time?!

In the late twentiethcentury,specifically in 1988, there was  alittlegirlattheageoffivewithshortblackhair,wearingasimplewhite cottondress,weepinginaloudvoiceinadarkcoldroom.Sheawokefrom a terrible nightmare that would have frightened any child herage.Thenshegotoutofbedandheadedtowardsthedoorofherdark bedroom.Shewascryingandwasingreatneedofahugthatwould makeherfeelsafeandsecurelikealltheotherchildrenwhohadtheir parentsbytheirsidesotheysleptwithoutfear.Thisgirlwasdifferent! Whenshegotscaredfromthedarkandlonelysituation,hercaretakerstartedtobeatherandscreamatherinaforeignlanguage…

Every night nothing but crying and crying! What an impolite actfromalittlegirl!You’relikeananimal!Shutyourmouth!Idon’twant tohearyourcryinganymore.What’swrongwithyou?Sleepnow!Sleep now!

Shewasscreaminginherfacesayingthosewordsandslapping herinthefaceatthesametime,withoutanymercy.

Hence,thereactionofthecaretakershockedthelittlegirl,who increasedinweeping,tryingtohideherfeelingsfromthebabysitter,whilefeelingsomuchpain,sadness,andfear.Sheburiedherselfunder alightsheetusedusuallyinthesummerwhentheweatherishot;but nowshewasusingittocoverherselfinacoldroomwithoutthewarmth ofloveoranyfeelingsexceptrecurrentsighsandtearsoverflowingin silence, pain, andloneliness…

Fear!She felt it when shewokeup from sleep with herheart beatingsofastandherbreathinguneven.Shestartedturningtoher righttofindherblackcoffeeinacupwaitingforher,andtotheleftto findherunlightedcandle,whosescentwasmadefromaflowercalled, BlueMira.Itwasaflowercontainingbeauty,afascinatingsmell,and poison.Isitpossibleforaflowertocontainlifeanddeathbetweenits petalsatthe same time?! It has wide, bountiful, green leaves and a white,milky,poisonousliquidlyingbetweenitsbranchesandleaves.

It must be dealt with in a cautiousmanner,because this liquid might cause one togoblind if hewereto touch the flower then hiseyesbymistake.It could also give one a rash that would make him want toscratchhis skin all the day and night.Watchout! Because not all flowers from Mexico and North America are peaceful! The Blue Mira wascreatedtoliveandgrowandtoharboritspoison-tomakeyouenjoy itsbeautyandbreathtakingsmell,especiallythewhiteones.

All flowers are not peaceful!

ThecolorwhiteisoftenlinkedtovariousperceptionsintheArabWorld. In Europe and other counties it is the color of the bride’s weddingdress.It is also used to symbolize death in the Hinduism funeral,accordingtotheircultureandrituals.Moreover,itisthecolors oftheclothesoftheinhabitantsofParadiseinmany

religions. Shockingly, the color white mixes between happiness and death, as it is the color of the bride’s dress and also the color of the wrap of a dead body.

At that moment, Hessa was sure that she was having the recurrent nightmare that comes to her from time to time.So,shepreferredfacing it rather than escaping from it. She praised Allah greatlythatshewasoldenoughand,therefore,nolongerinneedofher harshcaretaker-thewomanwhowasacaretakerforherandotherkids whowerethesameage.Theyweregivensuitablecarefromtheirhomemother,theEmirates.Itappointedforthemcaretakersandsupervisorswhostayedconstantlycaringfortheircomfortandfulfillingtheirneedsfrom teaching them, cooking for them, taking care of their health, monitoring their lessons by keepingtrackof their schoolwork, and doing all the other duties that a mother and father typically fulfill for theirchildren.

Unfortunately, thereweresupervisors andcaretakerswho brutally beat the children who did not find a mother except the Emirates or a father except the father of all people, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultanan-Nahyan,mayAllahblesshimandgranthimwiththehighestranksofParadise!

At those times, most babysitters and supervisorswerefrom Asian countries, whereas a very small numberwerefromArabMaghreb countries.Infact,everythinghastwosidestoit:goodandevil,lightand dark, kind and cruel. Some girls other than Hessa encountered good, acceptable treatment from theircaretakers,full of warmth andlove.Children nowadays are enjoying more enterest andcare,as the governmenthasreplacedtheoldsupervisorsandcaretakerswithmore educatedEmiraticitizenswhohavereceivedhighgradesinhighschool anduniversity. Also,there are now periodical supervisory visits from the principal of the shelter and the sheikhs who enforce strict laws to ensure the protection of the children and to provide them with comfort and psychological and financialsupport.

When sheregainedconsciousness from being lost in her past memories, she raised her hand which had been marking the pageshe hadstoppedonandwenttoherbedroominherveryownapartment.If shecouldhavehadthedecision,shewouldhavechosentoreadrather than experiencing that terrible nightmare which murdered thepleasure of her quietsleep.Sheswepther hand over herface,brushingawayherhairwhichwassoakedinsweat.Thensheclosedherbookandput itbesideherasifsheweresaying,Youarebesideme,myfriend.Don’tworry.Let’shaveaquietsleep.Shecheckedherwatchandfoundthat it was 3:30 a.m. She turned on the air conditioner and drank from a pottery jug full ofwater.She went back to sleep beside her book, hugginghersmallheart-shapedwhitecottonpillow.

Civilizations cannot be built except on science and morals. Based on these two things the Emirates was established.

It  was  eight  a.m.  Tuesday  morning,March20th,  2017, amorningfullofhappinessafteranightfullofnightmares.Shefinished adorningherself,whiletalkingtoherselfinthemirror:

Good morning! Sweet happiness. Good morning,  full  of  beauty  and kindness of the heart. She finished her statement by kissing her fingertips and blowing a kiss to her reflection. After putting on somemakeup,she grabbed a tube of lipstick and applied some onto herthin lips. She hadalwaysthought that a little bit of makeup added to one’sbeauty,whiletoomuchdistortsit.

She did her hair up in a neat simple style. She relished in applying perfume to her neck and wrists. She then put on herwatchand her abaya which she had designed herself from a high quality crepe cloth, with a little bit ofblacklace inlaid with fineblackbeads drapedovertwoslitsonthesidewhichshowedthebeautyofherwhite chiffon blouse and herblackhigh-waist trousers whichwerelong and wideatthe bottom. She decorated her hair with a thinblackribbon which smoothed down tufts of her silkyblackhair,which wasalwaysthecenterofattentionandadmirationtoanyonewhosawit.Sheswiftlycheckedher briefcase, afraid of forgetting her phone, andlockedher apartmentdoorthentooktheelevatordownstairs.Assoonasshehad descended and left the building, sheunlockedthe door of her white RangeRoverwithherautomaticremotekey.

She started the car engine while contemplating  the  happiness of thatday,as it was World HappinessDay.She was a resident  of  theEmirates,which  allows  one  to  achieve  impossibledreamsanddoesnotstopbreakingworldrecords.

The Emirates adopted the idea of happinessseveralyears before the adoption of the United Nations Committeeatits 66th session in June 2012, whichmarkedthe day ofMarch20th as World HappinessDay.Dubai is a city thatkeepspace with scientific developments, psychologicalprogress,and the achievement of impossibledreams.

Furthermore, the city has taken an interest in various aspects of    the people, from education to health and entertainment, and it has begun to compete with all of the countries in the world with its urban civilizeddevelopment,throughtheconstructionofgreattowerslikeBurj Khalifa, which holds first place as the world’s tallest tower andskyscraper.Itembraces the clouds and their high position. Sheikh MohammedbinRashidal-Maktoum,VicePresidentandPrimeMinister oftheUAEandMayorofDubai,gaveititsnameasanexpressionofhis love and honor to His Highness SheikhKhalifa bin Zayed al-Maktoum Nahyan, the Head ofState.

Dubai is consistently a city ofrecordbreaking, a symbol ofbeauty,development,  andprogress,arayof  hope  andhappiness

, not only forUAEcitizens and residents but for the rest of the world as well. Not only did Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoumbreak records when he announced the biggest reshuffle in thecountry,appointing eight new ministers, five of them being women and theiraverageagebeing thirty-eight-meaning theywereyouth. Thischange,produced ideas and generated power to achieve the impossible, as did the faith of His Highness and his confidence in the potential of the youth and giving them responsibility for leading theprogressof thecountry. Wecan see the results of their plan. It has beenprovenby theseministersfromthestatisticspublishedfromtimetotimeandfrom theprogressachieve by the state on various levels-intellectual, urban, and technical-which,in turn, leads to the happiness of all, especially thecitizensandresidents.TheUAEisalsothefirstcountryintheworld toappointaministerofhappiness.HernameisMinisterAhudal-Roumi.Moreover,only in theUAEwill you find ministries such as these.Some examples are Shamha al-Mazrouei the Minister of the State ofYouthAffairs,HerHighnessSheikhaLubnaal-QassimiMinisterofTolerance,and then Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum