Abu Dhabi's war memorial is an 'oasis of dignity' for UAE's heroes


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Abu Dhabi’s Wahat Al Karama is known in English as the Oasis of Dignity – and it is breathtaking in every sense.

From a glittering pool specifically built to reflect the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, to 31 imposing aluminium slabs leaning against each other, Wahat Al Karama is an awe-inspiring site.

But its smallest details impress most.

Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., November 27, 2018. Wahat Al Karama for Shireena. Victor Besa / The National Section: NA Reporter: Shireena Al Nowais
Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., November 27, 2018. Wahat Al Karama for Shireena. Victor Besa / The National Section: NA Reporter: Shireena Al Nowais

It was built in only seven months and inaugurated on November 30, 2016 – the same date that the UAE lost its first soldier in 1971, in the battle of Greater Tunb against the Iranians.

The 46,000 square metre site opposite the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque commemorates those who government has named its heroes. The many commuters who pass by the site might not be able to see the poems engraved on the leaning slabs of aluminium, or the narrow, horizontal structure supporting these slabs, engraved with the pledge of the UAE.

The smallest detail at Wahat Al Karama is symbolic, from its name and design, which was chosen to reflect the heritage of the UAE, to a small stream of water that travels through the different “stations” and “pavilions” symbolising the UAE’s first irrigation system.

The spine supporting the slabs is meant to represent the UAE’s soldiers, those who hold the country together. Without them the nation would topple.

Names of the heroes are not on the slabs but engraved on book-sized panels made of melted-down tank armour in the Pavilion of Honour.

The panels are set in the walls of a circular enclosure with even more leaning slabs. These are made of glass and there are eight of them – one for each of the emirates, and an eighth representing the servicemen and women.

The Wahat Al Karama memorial. Victor Besa/The National
The Wahat Al Karama memorial. Victor Besa/The National

Each panel has the name of the soldier engraved, and the year and country where they died.

Most recently, there are those who have lost their lives in Yemen and Afghanistan. There is only one woman – Sgt Mahra Mohamed Al Zaabi – who died in 2004 in the UAE during military training.

So particular is the attention to detail that the enclosure has a 24-hour cooling system so that the panels do not fog over with the UAE’s humidity. Water swirls anti-clockwise in a small infinity pool a few metres before the pavilion.

The pool is symbolic on two levels. One shows the soldiers’ sacrifices are kept in the history of the UAE; the other that their comrades will carry on their work.

__________

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__________

Every day, whether rain or shine, a dozen servicemen in uniform visit Wahat Al Karama to salute the UAE’s heroes.

On official visits and special occasions, the centre pool is drained and a wreath is placed on the aluminium panels.

Thousands of people visit Wahat Al Karama each day and the amphitheatre can host 1,200 people, but again, Wahat Al Karama’s grandeur lies in the small details – in the olive and palm trees planted to show heritage and love, and in the bushes grown to attract birds so that the only sounds you hear are of water streams and bird song.

It is, as the museum’s guide reads, “a timeless tribute to commemorate and honour the Emirati heroes who sacrificed their lives in the service of the country”.

Ceremonies to mark Commemoration Day will be held by ministries and institutions across the country tomorrow. The UAE flag will be raised at half-mast at 8am. A minute of silence will be held at 11.30am, followed by the raising of the UAE flag and the national anthem to honour Emiratis who have died in the line of duty.

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Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

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Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

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Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

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A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

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Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.