"Please, don't simply ignore us." Few could fail to be moved by this poignant request by one of the UAE's elders, made on the International Day of Older Persons. Some may feel a justified pang of of guilt. All of us, as we go about our fast-paced, modern lives, should reflect upon and learn from it.
Traditionally, Arab families and communities have valued their oldest members. As the Middle East Journal of Age and Ageing put it in 2014, Middle Eastern culture ensures respect for older people, who are seen as "a source of spiritual blessing, religious faith, wisdom and love".
But times are changing. In the past decade, technology has made the world more open and accessible than ever before, but it has also closed off important conversations. As one 77-year-old in Sharjah put it, “no one talks to us and most of us don’t know how to communicate with the younger generation, through WhatsApp or Instagram”.
The answer, of course, is not to train older people in the use of social media. A smartphone screen is no friend to those with fading eyesight and, besides, what they want most is face-to-face contact with other human beings.
This week the Ministry of Community Development launched Your Blessing Is Our Duty, a campaign to recognise the needs of older people, and opened a club where they can mix with the young.
The plan, to create a nationwide network of such centres, is a commendable one. But each of us should reach out to our older neighbours, not merely out of a sense of obligation, but to take advantage of a golden opportunity to benefit from the experience, knowledge, wit and wisdom that comes with age. This applies particularly in the UAE, where the older people are the last remaining curators of a fascinating oral history.
And if a further reason for the young to reach out to the their elders were needed, it is this: if you fail to maintain the connections between generations today, tomorrow it will be you pleading, “Please, don’t simply ignore us”.
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya
Directors: Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Dharmendra, Dimple Kapadia, Rakesh Bedi
Rating: 4/5
And Just Like That...
Director: Various
Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)