Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Emirati surgeon Dr Hamed Al Ahmad refused to let the constant threat of air strikes in Rafah deter him from doing his "national duty" in Gaza.
"I've treated many patients as bombs were being dropped in Rafah," Dr Hamed Al Ahmad said, recounting how Israeli attacks had intensified during the 103 days he worked at the UAE field hospital, which is located in the southern city of Rafah.
While working in a war zone, the challenge is to remain emotionally detached, the 46-year-old oral and maxillofacial surgeon told The National.
"You have to focus only on your patient's treatment and do the best you can in the dire situation," said Dr Al Ahmad.
"If you got emotional, then it would be very difficult to go on."
Despite the limitations of a field hospital in a war zone, Dr Al Ahmad has completed life-changing facial reconstruction for many Gazans.
"Usually, facial reconstruction cannot be done in the field hospital, but I did it," he said. None of his patients developed any subsequent infections, he added.
Most were treated for "broken bones, head and nerve injuries, and brain bleeding".
After his time at Rafah field hospital, set up as part of the UAE's Gallant Knight 3 operation to treat Palestinians injured in the conflict, Dr Al Ahmad has been stationed at the UAE’s floating hospital in the Egyptian city of Al Arish. He has been there since May 23.
Life in a war zone hospital
Apart from the heart-rending condition of his patients, the relentless bombing left Dr Al Ahmad sleep-deprived at nights.
"We used to sleep only for a few hours because of the loud explosions around us," he recalled. There were times he would stay up and watch the bombs going off in the distance as black smoke filled the sky, he added.
Every day he would wake up at 7am and attend a daily briefing at the hospital as they slotted the surgeries.
"After each strike, many patients, including children, would arrive and all three operation rooms would fill out," said Dr Al Ahmad.
The gratitude and resilience of his patients helped Dr Al Ahmad continue his work.
"The smile on their faces after treating them was the biggest motivation for me and my colleagues to carry on our duty," he said.
Dr Al Ahmad expressed immense pride at being able to "serve my brothers in such difficult situations".
"People were thanking the UAE for being on the ground to help them during their worst times," said Dr Al Ahmad.
Saving lives
Dr Al Ahmad, who arrived in Gaza in February, saved many lives but one particular case touched his heart.
A man had rushed his father into the emergency department after Israel bombarded their area with 16 air strikes.
"Half of Mohammed Al Jamal's face was crushed severely and his chance of survival was very low," said Dr Al Ahmad.
"When I broke the news to his son he just asked me to do what I could and said he had to go elsewhere.
"Upon more gentle questioning, the man eventually said he had to go "bury his sister"."
The news left Dr Al Ahmad shocked. "It was one of the toughest moments," he said.
Mr Al Jamal's condition stabilised and after three weeks in an intensive care unit, Dr Al Ahmad then carried out the four-hour facial reconstruction operation he needed.
"Mohammed is back to normal and can speak normally," he said.
A few days later, his son brought in his 10-year-old grandson, who had suffered a broken jaw.
"I operated on the little boy and the family couldn’t believe the results. Both survived," said Dr Al Ahmad.
The successful operations and well-stocked hospital were a result of the Emirati logistical teams in Al Arish, members of which ensured a steady supply of medicine and vital equipment.
Dr Al Ahmad is aware of the risks involved in working in a war zone, but believes it is his national duty to save lives.
"My family was scared when I told them I was going to Rafah but later they encouraged me to complete my humanitarian and national duty," he said.
He continues to treat injured Palestinians, about 50km from Rafah crossing border, at the UAE floating hospital in Al Arish.
"If they asked me to go [to Gaza] again, I would go without any hesitation," he said. "It is a humanitarian and national duty."
Watch: Onboard the UAE floating hospital
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
THE BIO
Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
New York Times or Jordan Times? NYT is a school and JT was my practice field
Role model - My Grandfather
Dream interviewee - Che Guevara
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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Tips%20for%20travelling%20while%20needing%20dialysis
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