In a poignant ceremony on Friday, President Sheikh Mohamed honoured eight remarkable people at the 11th Abu Dhabi Awards.
Among them, three stood as beacons of strength, despite navigating through life's most formidable challenges from the confines of a wheelchair. Their stories of hardship met by unwavering resolve moved many to tears.
There is a woman who will never be able to run and play with her young son because she sacrificed her ability to walk to help others. Then, there is the doctor who has a debilitating illness but still goes to the office every day of the week and fights for the rights of patients. Then there is the woman who survived an accident that killed most of her family and has dedicated her life to helping disabled people.
However, accolades were not limited to people with disabilities - elderly Emiratis and other citizens who tirelessly worked to educate and inspire others were also celebrated, demonstrating their remarkable resilience.
Amna Khalifa Al Qemzi was planting crops even before the UAE was formed and continues to do so today. She has one of the UAE's leading organic farms and has taught generations of Emiratis how to farm. Ms Al Qemzi began planting at the time of Sheikh Shakhbout bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1928, and showed him her crops.
“Our soil is fertile, and don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise,” she said proudly.
“And if you need help, I'll help you. I'll come myself and send you anything you need, but just start planting. There is nothing more beautiful than growing your own crops.”
On being given the Abu Dhabi Award and meeting Sheikh Mohamed, Ms Al Qemzi said: “There is no better encouragement.
“My crops breathe life into me, but meeting the President feels like I had the whole world in my hands. I'll be planting as long as there is life in me.”
Dr Ahmed Osman Shatila, a consultant neurologist who manages the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, is a doctor and an MS patient. Dr Shatila’s MS is progressive and he now requires a wheelchair, but he goes to work every day and treats patients despite the debilitating effects of the autoimmune disease. His efforts for the MS community and advocacy for diseases affecting more people daily are unwavering.
In a recent interview with The National, he said that a perfect world would be one where MS patients had all the rights.
“We have come a long way. It is almost like we have gone leaps and bounds but we aren’t really there yet,” he said.
“The medicine is good but it isn’t magic. I don’t think we are done yet. I want public awareness, patient awareness, and employment awareness. There are still some people who don’t want to get married to people with MS, and many employers don’t understand employees with MS.
“It is always nice to have more. There is always something more you can do better. You don’t want to settle. I have no words. This is the best advocacy for MS, and to be appreciated like this is unbelievable.”
Imen Sfaxi’s eyes glaze over when she remembers the fateful day in Abu Dhabi when her life was changed forever.
Two years ago, a fire broke out at a restaurant in a building next to where she was living with her two sons and husband, and instead of staying in, Mrs Sfaxi ran towards the burning restaurant to check if anyone was trapped inside or needed help. She carried bottles of water with her in case anyone needed water. Unfortunately, there was an explosion while she was running back to ensure everyone was safe.
The Tunisian spent 10 months in intensive care as a result. She is now paralysed from the waist down after damaging her spine, pelvis and nerves. Today, she is in a wheelchair and has scars from third-degree burns on her body.
“If I knew the outcome, I would still do it all again,” she told The National. “I don’t regret a single thing I did.”
Her four-year-old son says his mother is a hero. The flames from that day remain etched in her memory.
“That fire,” she said after a long pause for thought. “When it happens and you know people are in danger, you don’t think about it; you instinctively want to help.
“God will never want anything bad to happen to any of us, and today the best thing in the world happened to me, I met the President. I am so grateful to him and my family and friends for their support. I wouldn't be here standing strong without them.”
When 16-year-old Salaamah Saif Al Teneij met the President to receive the Abu Dhabi Award, she told him: “Countries compete with their nuclear power, but we lead with the power of our youths.”
This wasn’t rehearsed, she told The National.
“It is from the heart,” she said. “Our youths do so much and continue to do so because of the support we get from our leadership.”
Ms Al Teneiji is a former member of the Emirati Children’s Parliament, which consists of 40 members. She is also the spokesperson of the Supreme Council for Motherhood & Childhood Bullying Prevention in Schools Award.
She is a strong advocate of anti-bullying, speaking at Unicef and Parliament about the rights of children to be safe and not be subjected to any form of bullying, whether online or in any physical environment.
Klaithem Obaid Al Matrooshi went through a horrific accident when she was 23. She is now 56, but the physical scars of that day are visible.
More than 30 years ago, Ms. Al Matrooshi was in a car with six of her siblings when two reckless drivers who were racing each other crashed into them.
In an instant, two of her siblings and a nephew were killed, one sustained a brain injury that caused her death a few years later, and Ms Matrooshi became paralysed from the waist down because of a spinal injury. Her siblings who died were her twin brother, a 14-year-old and a seven-year-old.
“The hardest thing was seeing my mum. Seeing the heartache of a mother who lost more than half her children,” she said.
Ms Al Matrooshi had a total of eight siblings. They are now five.
"I lost a part of my movement but my mother lost her children and a nephew. Souls disappeared forever in an instant," she said.
“But you move on and you live, and you never give up,” Ms Al Matrooshi said. “And today, this award and meeting the President is a testament that I am on the right path. This country gave us the tools to contribute and to participate in society and gives us the incentive to more forward."
Ms Al Matrooshi is a pioneering figure in the field of human rights, who has worked to empower disabled people, especially women, and has achieved outstanding local and global accomplishments.
She is also one of the founding members of the female section of the Al Thiqah Club for the disabled in Sharjah.
"What you see is the outer shell of the person but you don't see the beautiful soul inside burning with determination," she said.
