Zayed’s Council Abroad

Whenever Sheikh Zayed had an abroad visit, whether it had been formal, semi-formal or personal, he would always meet those of his people who reside that country, especially scholars, whom he would meet and encourage on seeking knowledge and endure alienation, telling them that their homeland needs them to transfer the knowledge and experience they gain in order to prosper. Then he would present each of them with an amount of three thousand dollars as a gift and support.

He would also meet businessmen and investors in that country, identify their projects, support them, facilitate the hardships they face and encourage them on moving forward with their investments and activities.

One of the situations I am reminded of by this topic is a meeting between Sheikh Zayed _ God bless his soul_ and a business man of the investor citizens, which was during Sheikh Zayed’s visit to one of the Arab Countries where the man asked his support in an agricultural project, Sheikh Zayed agreed, providing him with the support he needed and promising to pay him a visit one year later. The man indeed established the project according to the latest advanced technology methods and invited Sheikh Zayed one year after to visit the project, telling him that he was ready. When Sheikh Zayed came as per the invitation what he found had shocked him, the project was entirely run by remotely-controlled devices with no room for manual labor as all devices would accomplish the work as required,

Before that scene Sheikh Zayed admonished the man saying “I gave you the support you asked for you to employ the labor in the country you are in as a support to them as well, to decrease unemployment and help the poor, yet you employed technology!”, And ordered him to find three thousand to five thousand widows and poor women to work on that project, so that they would be provided with a stable income to fulfill their needs, and promised the man that if he does so he would continue to support his project, by God’s will.

The man followed the order, surveying the area to find those who are in desperate need and found over five thousand women!

A year or two later, Sheikh Zayed _God bless his generous soul_ visited the project again to be met with a scene of five thousand widows working, with their children playing around them or helping them to work!

Once he saw such an astonishing scene, he ordered for a school to be built for those kids and a residential area for the families!

I remember once being in the International Tawasol Tent and told the attendance this story, and a European businessman asked me “And are Zayed’s sons and people still following such methodology even now?”, My answer was “Yes, they are still following it because they are devoted to their father and their homeland”, and we as well are following to express our devotion, loyalty and our sense of repayment to our leaders, and that will not change because there are generations who took it upon themselves to commit to this benign habit and will maintain its application and continuity as far as they can.

Of the previous we notice Sheikh Zayed’s look to the human through the agricultural field, a look full of love, loyalty, empathy and compassion.

We may attach another type of Sheikh Zayed’s meetings within the country and abroad to this council, where he would seize the chance to provide others with help and, at the same time, pay attention to attracting innovates, thinkers, poets and media professionals to his country whenever he encountered them.

We can place an example on this here, one that also indicates the admiration and love others hold for Sheikh Zayed _God bless his soul_ as if it was a harvest for the seeds he planted in their hearts by his generous hands and the purity, love and compassion of his pure heart, and we take that example from some of the Arab Countries.

This example was mentioned in one of the Gulf newspapers as a part of an essay for an Arab Writer in which he says “The Emirates Names phenomenon in people and places in some of the Arab countries is rather remarkable, but not quite so when we look through the roots of this, wherever you go even in distant villages you will encounter an Emirati name,

The reason behind this phenomenon is simply the love of the residents of these areas to Sheikh Zayed _ God bless his soul_, the unmistakable love and appreciation stories that started from the earliest of Emirates’ relationship with these countries which Sheikh Zayed had made great accomplishments for through his life, and maybe the most important accomplishment was maintained this personal side of their relationship.

The tales of the people of these countries revolve around the appreciation Sheikh Zayed held for them, as he used to surround them with special care, respecting the leaders and commoners, appreciating their scholars and paying great attention to them. With that, Sheikh Zayed left greatly influential impressions in the hearts of those he had met from these countries, whether they were directly or indirectly related to him.