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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What Did Sheikh Mohammed Mean by Calling Fujairah ‘The Lungs of the UAE’?

By Many Names
Fujairah has been called An Arabian Jewel, the Hidden Gem and the quaint getaway of the UAE but this week, His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum called Fujairah ‘the lungs of the UAE’.

What did he mean?

Refreshment Centre
The lungs play a pivotal role in drawing the breath that contains the vital oxygen into the blood and through all parts of the body.

Fujairah is the place that provides significant refreshment to people in the Emirates with its natural scenery, mountain playground, beautiful beaches and rich sea life.

Fujairah is increasingly a healthy and relaxing getaway location where tourists and UAE residents come to replenish their whole being, be pampered and get reinvigorated.

Remote and Invisible
How often has someone said to you, “You’ve got a beautiful pair of lungs?” While people get facelifts, implants and reductions for other parts of their anatomy, cosmetic surgery for lungs is rare. Lungs are functional and they don’t appear to have an aesthetic role. They are there to do the job.

Fujairah is not as prominent as other emirates and sometimes it seems hidden behind the vertebrae of the Hajars. But it is there playing an increasingly important role for the rest of the Emirates especially in boosting the power supply (oil, gas and electricity) to other parts of the country and beyond.

“As natural as breathing…” we say about human life, could equally apply to the unconscious role that Fujairah is playing in the region.

Indispensable
It is notable that Sheikh Mohammed did not call Fujairah “the appendix” which is an organ that can be removed and forgotten without affecting the life of the body.

While quietly doing their job, the lungs are nonetheless indispensable to the life and functioning of the body. We register their importance when saying that a newborn baby took her first breath or an old man took his final breath.

Fujairah goes about its essential business quietly and without trumpeting its achievements yet its presence would be noticed in an instance if it ceased to serve as a member of the United Arab Emirates.

As Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was affirming Fujairah’s importance to the UAE and the Gulf Region in announcing an allocation of the colossal sum of 4 billion AED from UAE revenues to fund 35 new infrastructure projects in the eastern emirate between 2011 and 2013. What a lung enhancement this is!

Hardy Yet Vulnerable
While the lungs go about their daily duties with regularity and with not much maintenance needed, they are susceptible to infection and life-threatening diseases like cancer.

The pristine beaches of Fujairah and coral treasures are amazing the way they recover from pollution and storms but to keep the coast and mountains providing life and replenishment, guarding against the pollution of the sea and atmosphere must be of paramount concern.

Hands, Shoulders, Knees…
If Fujairah is the lungs of the UAE, then what are the other parts of the UAE corpus?

Dubai could be the head, the face and the mouth with its high profile, strategic thinking and vocal forthrightness.

Abu Dhabi as the capital might well be regarded as the heart through which all decisions and resources flow.

Sharjah, the conservative emirate that strives to flush out the impurities might be the kidney.

And so on…

Related
Why Sheikh Mohammed Visited Fujairah This Week, FIF, 8 October 2010.
Sheikh Mohammed Says the Whole UAE is Back, FIF, 27 September 2010.
Sheikh Mohammed on the United Arab Emirates, FIF, 31 August 2010.
Sheikh Mohammed Called ‘Sheikh Mo Mentum’ at the US Horse Racing Sales, ETE. More on Mohammed the Facebooking Twittering Sheikh of Dubai, UAE, ETE.
Make Sure to Connect with Sheikh Mohammed’s Correct Facebook Page, ETE. Sheikh Mohammed Gets Public Page on Facebook and Thousands of Fans, ETE. Sheikh Mohammed Showered With Birthday Greetings and Facebook Gifts, ETE. Connect With Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid on Facebook, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammed Gains Too Many Friends on Facebook, ETE.
Follow Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai on Twitter, ETE.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Judged One of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century, ETE.
Poems Give Most Revealing Glimpse of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al Maktoum, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammed Hailed as Most Powerful in Horse Racing Industry, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammed Pays Record Price for Aussie Horse Racing Deal, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammed’s Ambitions for Middle East, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammad Models Rare Style of Leadership, ETE.
Sheikh Mohammed’s Leadership is Honoured, ETE.
New Website for H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ETE.
Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed on 60 Minutes Video, ETE.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page upon which many more articles and links are posted than on this blog.

Image: Sheikh Mohammed and other UAE leaders drawing refreshment from “the lungs of the UAE” as they play in the Fujairah waters in between business meetings. (Photo courtesy of the Media Office of His Highness)

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