Young Emiratis praise Mandela as an inspiring hero

Emirati graduates talk of how Nelson Mandela helped shape the person they wanted to become.

Fatimah Al Qubaisi went to an all girls Arabic school and it was there where she first learnt about Nelson Mandela. She says his story had a profound impact on her life. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // Fatima Al Qubaisi is too young to have protested against Nelson Mandela’s incarceration – she was born the year after his release from prison.

But the 22-year-old Emirati learnt about his fight against apartheid as a child and he soon became a personal hero – a man whose example she believes other young nationals will be inspired by.

“I first learnt about Nelson Mandela in school,” Fatima says. “We were reading Cry The Beloved Country at the time,” referring to the 1948 novel set in South Africa against the black and white divide. “We also learnt about how [Mandela] went to prison because of the principles he believed in,” she said.

“It taught me there are two kinds of people in this world – the majority who sit back and let things happen and the rare ones who stand up for what they believe in, regardless of the consequences.

“Nelson Mandela was one of those rare people.”

Fatima hopes more Emiratis will learn about Mandela and what he stood for.

“People like Nelson Mandela can inspire a lot of people, especially young people in the UAE, because I don’t think they’ve experienced that kind of pain and struggle and hardship that builds character,” she says.

“Here we have material comforts, we have a lot of things, and we need to rely on other things to build our character and our belief.”

Fatima decided to study law because she hopes to bring about change for good some day.

“Mandela had patience, because he waited all those years in prison,” she says. “He taught me not everything has to be a revolution – sometimes change is a slow process.”

After graduating in October, she plans to work in a legal department and gain experience in applying the law.

She also said she would love to run for election to the Federal National Council with a focus on education – something Mandela held dear.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” he once said.

“Sheikh Zayed himself said it all begins with the youth,” Fatima says. “The people are the best resource the country has.”

She sees many similarities between the icons.

“I think both of them are visionaries and they were both way ahead of their time.

“When Sheikh Zayed went to the UK and he saw everything there, he didn’t see how the UAE was less developed. All he saw were possibilities and I think that is the same with Mandela. Where most see a dead end or difficulty, these men saw possibility.”

Two other young Emiratis have honoured Mandela through volunteer work are Meera Al Mutawa and Fatema Al Shehhi, both 22 and graduates of Zayed University.

The young women travelled to India with Habitat for Humanity in 2010 to build homes for needy families.

Ms Al Shehhi has since gone on trips to Ethiopia and Nepal, too.

“Everything that he has done for the people was so inspired and has a positive impact on them, for sure,” she says.

Ms Al Mutawa adds: “Mandela fought a lot for justice and definitely he inspired a lot of people.

“We have something in Islam called sadaqa jariya, when you do a good deed and you receive returning good from it. Hopefully he is getting this for the good he has done in the world.”