December is a very special month to us Emiratis. Every year on the 2nd of December we celebrate the UAE National Day. This month is always full with a patriotic spirit and feel. This year our beloved UAE has completed its 39 years under the union, we’re all happy over joyed, because this union has given us security, pride, peace, and safety. We all celebrate this day differently and not to forget that the government itself organizes alot of events and activities to mark and celebrate this day in the best way. Streets decoration, mall activities, gatherings, schools/universities events and more.
Sadly recently there is a new phenomena in the way which people choose to celebrate national day. There is nothing wrong with car or walking parades, unfortunately it is what people chose to display from behavior that outdoes joy and reaches to misery, disrespect, disregard and neglect to the people around them. Such behavior end up defying what the union is really about, the security, peace, cooperation, friendliness and safety that we take pride in being given through the union, we choose to ignore all that in one night and act in a way that we never do in any normal occasion and guess what? We end up with results we never want to live with (accidents and death). By the end of these festivities and celebrations that once used to be a cause of happiness, joy and delight a lot of people get offended in their own cars, the streets ends up filled with disorder and litter, and in some cases we hear about unfortunate death accidents with all the chaos. And you know what is depressing? The part where all of this is happening regardless of the huge efforts the police are putting in to reduce the possible issues from such behaviors, imagine how those parades would end if the police wasn’t present.
Above all, the next day we find the cleaning workers awake from the early morning trying to clean streets that was glowing just a day before but now looks like a hurricane passed through it. We need to learn how to express our joy, appreciation of the union, gratitude to our leaders in new ways that will not end up with results against what our union brought for us.
One of the most important objectives of the Union of the UAE is the progress of the society and I do not think that by such behavior we represent any kind of progress. On the contrary, such behavior shows that the UAE youth and young are people do nothing but hum, dance and stand on cars endangering their lives and make the lives of others at risk. How would you think baba zayed would have felt if he had seen the chaos that happened that day and the after math of it? I am sure none of us would want to even think for a second that we have saddened our father and our leader. So for all what he has done for us, let us together work for better celebrations with less or no damages.
(written in collaboration with Iman ben chaibah – Sail Mag)
