Children of UAE hero killed in Yemen proud of father’s sacrifice

A family united in grief: left to right, widow Umm Majed, 15-year-old daughter Mahra Jamal, second daughter Maha, 13, nine-year-old son Zayed and Mahra’s twin brother Majed. Jeffrey E Biteng / The NationalShow less

SHARJAH // Jamal Mayed Al Muhairi called his family on September 3 to tell them he would be stationed in Yemen a while longer. The following day the Emirati serviceman was dead, killed in a rocket attack in Marib province.

Months after his death, his wife and children are still coming to terms with the fact they will never see him again.

“I thought it was a two-week operation that he was going for. We were supposed to be going to Mecca to perform our Haj pilgrimage,” says Umm Majed, Jamal’s widow.

The mother of five said when news of the tragedy began to filter back to the UAE, she knew straight away her husband was one of the fatalities.

“When the news initially broke that Emirati serviceman had died in Yemen, I knew he was one of them,” she says.

“Call it a mother’s intuition but we knew. Saying goodbye to him before he left was hard. The kids were in tears. He asked me to take good care of them.”

Raising her children without their father is a huge responsibility for the widow, but she is determined their memories of him will never fade.

“He was a loving, dutiful man with a deep love for his country and his last wishes before he left and in every phone call was for me to take good care of our kids,” Umm Majed says.

For 15-year-old Mahra Jamal, the soldier’s eldest daughter, Fridays are the toughest.

“Fridays won’t be the same without him. It was a sacred day that he always dedicated for us, no matter what,” Mahra says.

Her twin brother Majed shares his sister’s sorrow but also pride in their father’s sacrifice and he hopes to one day serve in the Armed Forces as a pilot.

The street in Al Qarayen, Sharjah, where Jamal’s family lives, has been renamed in his honour on the orders of Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.

“It brings us great pride when the school bus drives us home and the other kids point to our father’s name. It’s a great honour and I’m immensely proud of him,” Majed says.

For 13-year-old Maha, it is her father’s kindness and playful nature that she misses the most.

“I always waited for him outside when he returned from his daily commute from Abu Dhabi and he always looked forward to seeing us at home,” she says.

“It’s true that I’ve cried a lot because of his death because it’s not easy, but he did something so honourable and I’m happy that the whole country is honouring him and his fallen brothers this Martyrs’ Day.”

Being the daughter of a martyr is an honour Maha holds dear to her heart.

“‘The martyr’s daughter’ is what some of my friends referred to me as and it makes me so proud to be called that,” she says.

Jamal would have celebrated his 42nd birthday on Sunday. His wife has written a moving eulogy in Arabic honouring her husband.

“It hurts me every time I hear your name followed by may Allah have mercy on your soul.

“I pray for you all the time and hope to be reunited with you some day,” she wrote in the tribute.