Teenage son tells of grief at losing ‘mentor’ father after Yemen mission

Teenager pays tribute to Nasser Al Blooshi, who died nearly three months after being injured in the line of duty in Yemen.

Family and friends carry the body of Nasser Al Blooshi after dhuhr prayers at the Armed Forces mosque in Merashed. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

FUJAIRAH // The son of Nasser Al Blooshi, the soldier who died on Tuesday three months after being injured in Yemen, has told of how he will not know what to do without his mentor.

Nasser, 39, was a first sergeant in the Armed Forces and had been receiving treatment at a hospital in Munich, Germany, after being badly injured on a mission to liberate the city of Marib from Houthi rebels.

His son Ali, 14, says: “I have to be strong to support my mother and sisters, but it’s really very hard. He was my mentor and he used to guide me any time I asked for help – I don’t know what I will do without him.”

Ali’s twin sister Adhbah says: “He means everything to me and I don’t know how life will be without him. We love him a lot.”

Nasser’s funeral took place on Wednesday after dhuhr prayers at the Armed Forces mosque in Merashed, where he was from.

The Al Blooshi family have started accepting condolences but had hoped that the father of five boys and two girls would recover from his injuries and rejoin the family at home in Fujairah.

“He stayed for almost three months in Germany for treatment. Seventy per cent of his body had suffered from second-degree burns, his kidneys and liver stopped working and he was unable to speak or move,” says Sharifa Al Taher, Nasser’s widow.

“We all went to see him – me, his brothers and sisters – while his children had prepared some paintings to hang in his room with their photos on each one.

“He used to say war is for heroes and the country is everything. He will be missed.”

Ms Al Taher, 38, spoke of the days before he left for Yemen, saying that he took her to where he bought the household groceries, so that she would know where to go in the event something happened to him.

“He used to do everything and care about us all,” she says.

Nasser had left the country without saying goodbye to his mother, because she was being treated in Germany for back pain but, coincidentally, she was the first member of the family to see him after his injury because she was still in the country.

“My older son Mohammed informed me about what happened to Nasser but I controlled myself in order to be strong and help him and be beside him through his treatment journey,” says Fatima Al Taher, 75.

“He was in deep pain and I prayed to God for relief and now my son is a martyr – my most beloved and kind son.”

Nasser used to take care of his mother and the whole family when he lived with her, his sister Muna said.

“He was a man with a very kind heart. He helped so many people and stood by the weak. His family is everything and he always had a joke to tell and make us laugh,” the 35-year-old says.

“He is a martyr now and we are very proud of him. He loved the country as much as he loved us and we are all ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the country.”

In celebration of Nasser’s life, and the lives of other soldiers who died in Yemen, the country has been asked to observe a minute’s silence on November 30, which has been declared as Commemoration Day.

The Martyrs’ Families Affairs Office has called upon all to observe a minute’s silence at 11.30am on the day, following the lowering of the national flag, across the country, at 8am.