An adorable and inspiring set of videos filmed during Eid Al Adha more than a year ago that have gone viral in recent weeks star Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and a charming little boy identified only as Saif.
An explosion in sharing the videos on Facebook and Twitter has drawn more than a million hits on YouTube combined.
The first video, which is 45 seconds and has drawn more than 300,000 hits, shows an exchange between Saif and Sheikh Mohammed, who sets aside many hours during Eid to exchange greetings with residents.
After greeting the Sheikh with khashim (the traditional Emirati nose-to-nose greeting), Saif pushed something into the Sheikh’s palm. Sheikh Mohammed kept his hand closed while he greeted a few more people before looking down to see what had been pressed there.
When he saw a Dh5 note, the Sheikh broke into a disbelieving grin and turned his head to follow the little boy.
It is customary to gift money (Eideya) at Eid, but normally it is elders who give money to children.
In a three-minute video filmed by 24.ae and later posted on YouTube, which has drawn more than 831,000 hits, a reporter asks the little boy about the exchange. In typical youngster short answers, the little boy says it was his idea to pass along the money, and that he had given it to the Sheikh because he loved him. When asked what he thought about the Sheikh, Saif responded “very tall”.
fcampbell@thenational.ae
