A Canada Day drive-by parade makes its way through town on July 1, 2020 in Newcastle. After living in several countries, Kareem Shaheen has settled down with his family in Canada. AFP
A Canada Day drive-by parade makes its way through town on July 1, 2020 in Newcastle. After living in several countries, Kareem Shaheen has settled down with his family in Canada. AFP
A Canada Day drive-by parade makes its way through town on July 1, 2020 in Newcastle. After living in several countries, Kareem Shaheen has settled down with his family in Canada. AFP
Last month, while I was glued along with everyone else to Twitter following the US presidential election returns, I got an email that I knew would change my life. Its anodyne title began: "Confirmation of Permanent Residence." I was now officially on the path to becoming a Canadian.
I moved to Montreal a little over two years ago with my wife, who was already a permanent resident. Our son, who was born here, is already a Canadian citizen. I applied for residency in January 2019. A process that usually takes around a year lasted 22 months because of the pandemic. Exhausted and burned out by months of social distancing and overwork, it was not quite jubilation that I felt. It was like letting out a breath that I had held for almost two years.
I was incredibly lucky that I even had the opportunity when others had to brave the high seas and risk the lives of their children only to drown or find cold hearts on the European continent. But years of reporting in the Middle East had left me with one, tragic truism – that in much of the region, the value of an individual human life is worth nothing to the forces that shape its geopolitical destiny. I had hoped to stay anyway because I wanted to tell all the stories I'd heard. But it seemed irresponsible, if I were to have a child, not to give him or her every opportunity at a better life.
I began working on all the paperwork. There were forms to be filled, letters to be printed and mailed out, photographs to be taken, health insurance to apply for, French classes to sign up to, Canadian history books to read. The overpowering drive I felt was a sudden and instinctive sense of belonging that appeared to well out of nowhere.
I never really lived in my home country of Egypt for any significant length of time. As a child I was raised in Dubai to parents who were doctors, and who took us back home for months every summer holiday. I lived in the Netherlands, Lebanon and Turkey, reported from Syria, Jordan, the Gulf and Morocco.
There was a strange transience to that existence. There was nothing that was quite “mine” in all those places. It felt like constantly standing a little apart in the family photograph, like a guest who was always respected and made to feel welcome, but not quite too welcome that he might overstay his visit.
It felt equally strange to be suddenly told that I was welcome here. That I could stay for as long as I want. That I could be a part of it rather than apart in every sense of the word. That I could count on this and would never have to leave if I didn’t want to.
Even from afar, I often longed for Egypt. It was a sensation that had little to do with what was happening in the country at any point in time. It had to do with the knowledge that, if the world entire closed its doors, I could go back home, to my mother’s apartment in Alexandria overlooking the Mediterranean, or to our family home in our Nile Delta village, and be embraced and loved.
Now there is another place like that. It is not exactly home yet, but it’s pretty darn close, and it will be soon. Its door is not ajar but wide open, and for that I will be forever grateful.
Kareem Shaheen is a veteran Middle East correspondent in Canada and a columnist for The National
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 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.
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 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, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
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.
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.
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 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.
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).
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
Court 2 - 2.30pm
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
Tsvetana Pironkova v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16 Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain Defending champions: Real Madrid
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11 What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time. TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea When: Tonight, 5.30pm Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Tickets:www.ticketmaster.ae
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
'The Predator'
Dir: Shane Black
Starring: Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Keegan-Michael Key
Two and a half stars