Twitter lit up this week with enthusiasm for the Arab world’s first mission to Mars and celebrations over the Schengen visa waiver programme for Emiratis. Meanwhile, Egyptians on social media were debating a viral video showing a woman arguing with a police officer at a Cairo airport after being told that her flight was overbooked.
Mars mission
A burst of patriotism accompanied the announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, that the Mars probe would be named Hope.
Many people endorsed Sheikh Mohammed’s words: “Sheikh Zayed was the hope of the UAE and the UAE is the hope of the region. Our generation is the hope of the Arabs and Muslims.”
Amal (@amal_alkaabi) said it represented “the birth of something new and unique for the UAE”, while @uae_11G felt it symbolised “limitless ambition”, adding that “we will become one of the best countries in the world”.
Adel (@Adel1636) shared an introductory video about the mission, saying it evoked a “wonderful feeling”. Salem (@Just1salem) tweeted a photo of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid with the rhetorical question: “Do you know that the word ‘impossible’ just doesn’t exist in this man’s dictionary?”
Schengen visa
Tweets of joy erupted on social media even before the official announcement of the visa exemption for Emiratis visiting the Schengen area – a zone of 34 European countries.
Foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed (@ABZayed) tweeted his thanks for the diplomatic efforts that enabled the much-anticipated development
He tweeted: “I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the UAE Ambassador Sulaiman Al Mazroui and his team for their efforts with the European Union for waiving the UAE from Schengen visa.”
Federal National Council member Noura Al Kaabi (@NouraAlKaabi) tweeted a video that offered a brief outline of the Schengen waiver.
Khaled (@Khaled_Aljabri), a cartoonist for Al Roya newspaper, shared a caricature of a man lost in thought about the different European countries to which he can now travel without a visa, only to have his suspicious wife say: "You haven't been yourself the past two days. Are you thinking of marrying again?"
Faris (@farisf9) said it was a great “diplomatic achievement for the UAE” and Saad (@saadalsuraihi) from Saudi Arabia tweeted that “the UAE and its people deserve the best”.
Abdullah (@AbdullaAlbani), who is studying engineering in South Korea, tweeted that visa-exempt Emiratis would start boarding planes to the Schengen area straight away.
And Helal (@HelalAlkaabi1) was one of the many who thanked “our leaders, those who work day and night to make their people happy”.
Egyptian high drama
Until this week, only her friends and family knew Yasmin El Narsh. Now, the entire Egyptian Twitterverse knows her name and has an opinion about her.
Ms El Narsh, who comes from a wealthy family, hit a police officer at Cairo airport and hurled water and insults at him.
Various theories exist as to why she was stopped at the airport. Either way, she was detained – and people had mixed feelings, with some supporting a “free Yasmin El Narsh” hashtag and others saying she got what she deserved.
Ehab (@lo_ehab) questioned the authenticity of the incident: “Something’s wrong, why is the video edited?”
@masralarabia said that it was all “fake” and @AbdelrhmanFawzi questioned if Ms El Narsh was really in jail.
@faragnassar5 shared his two favourite scenes from the video of the incident one where Mr El Narsh says, “Excuse me, are you recording me?” and another where she is seen asking the police officer: “Do you want me to hit you again?”
Sarah Khamis is The National’s social media editor
salalawi@thenational.ae
On Twitter: @SarahKhamisUAE
