Eternal Bond: Zayed and The Creation of a Country

            Forty years ago, seven Emirates, or city-states, shared culture, tradition, language, religion, and customs, separated by border-like barriers. In an era when the whole of the Arab world was busy with Pan-Arabism and the discourse of unity was the main headline, little attention came to these tiny city-states, quietly drifting toward the end of British rule. Sheikh Zayed said, “Do not speak of what you will do, but let your achievements speak for you”; in the spirit of those words, Sheikh Zayed took it upon himself to unite the Emirates, and create a nation, through great toil. The achievements of Our Father Zayed speak for themselves, but this is a humble homage to one of the greatest men in history, which left his children a country that rose from the desert dunes to be a model to, and home for, a great many people from around the world.

            Today the United Arab Emirates has come a long way from where it once was, forty years ago at its birth. Though I am only in my late twenties, I have witnessed the growth of a nation the birth of which my own father witnessed before me.  Those generations to follow will see it progress further. Not many today in the same household can claim to have seen the birth, growth, and progression of a nation as successful as the UAE. With all the development in human capital, infrastructure, healthcare (and the list goes on), what we have built in only forty years is a source of pride for every UAE national and resident who has seen the nation grow. The main source of pride, however, to me at least, is the unification and the assimilation of people under one nation, one identity, and one common cause: on December 2^nd 1971 we became the people of the United Arab Emirates under the leader of the father of the union Sheikh Zayed. But is that all? Is that the tale of the UAE? Of course not.

            To us all, we will always be indebted to Sheikh Zayed for what he did to for us, and we should all give back to this country what it deserves. While we are a young nation with many achievements, however, the road ahead is long, and tough. In that, it is similar to the road our Father took to build and unite this nation, where he faced hardship, opposition, and many surprises along the way. We, today, also have a long way forward to make our beloved country even better than what it is today. Sheikh Zayed believed that progress is a never-ending cycle; upgrading and reforming must never stop if our goal is to be our best.  And thus this responsibility falls on every one of us to make sure we work for our country the best we can, through our professions, education, family: in every way possible. Zayed believed human capital is the greatest resource of this nation, and we must live up to the expectations our Father has for us, for his living memory will always be witness to our accomplishments.  Our pride in this nation leaves us no choice but to continue his legacy for the sake of this country, and to honor the great man that made that dream a reality.  

            Mere words cannot fully express how any UAE national feels towards her or his country; our achievements will stand testimony to how we carry on the legacy of Sheikh Zayed, Zayed Al Emarat, hand in hand with our leaders. I, for one, have pledged to myself before all, to always represent my country how I want others to see it, and that the ideal way to do that is to always work and strive to be the very best we can be. We have come a long way from the 2^nd of December 1971, to what we are today on the 2^nd of December 2011. One can only be honored by our past, proud of our present, and confident in our future, in this new nation drawn out from the desert sands by Zayed, the Founder, the Leader, our Father. Let’s celebrate on the 2^nd of December; celebrate the 40^th anniversary of our beloved nation, for all its values and achievements. And on December 3rd, let us start working once again for our nation, honoring our Father, and all that he has given to us.