Fujairah Terry Fox Run a Personal Experience of Loss and Hope

The 2^nd Fujairah Terry Fox Run on Saturday 25 February was a fund-raiser and a community-builder but for many it was an intensely personal experience.

Riyad Kamato, who lost his wife to cancer and Giscard Zghaib, who proudly wore a picture of his mother who died from cancer in 2007, both came from Lebanon to join the Fujairah Terry Fox Run.

Khalid Farid, who lost a kidney and part of his hip to cancer, walked the Fujairah Terry Fox Run on crutches.

Moza Al Kendi, HCT—Fujairah student, currently doing work experience with the Al Khaleej newspaper, reflects in this article on what the Fujairah Terry Fox Run meant to her:

I was happy to see the second Terry Fox Run in Fujairah for I love the idea of organizing an activity for cancer research. Such activities happen regularly in other countries but they are rarely found in Arab countries. Why?

In 2004 my beloved father passed away because of cancer and less than two months before his death he attended a funeral of one of our relatives who also died of cancer. I saw a terrible sadness in his eyes after his return from the funeral, as he knew that he would follow soon and he didn’t want to die.

When my father was diagnosed with cancer I remembered my grandfather who died of cancer. He died years before my father and mother married so we grew up not knowing our grandfather.

Accepting the idea of my father’s death was not easy to handle and on the day he died my faith almost did not exist. It took me years to get my faith back. You could never feel normal about your father’s death because it is impossible. Hearing the word ‘cancer’ brings fear and we all wait for the day when cancer will be a minor sickness that can be treated very easily.

Terry Fox knew that he was coming to an end in this life but he thought about the future that he would not be part of. His consideration for people made his idea globally practiced. For those who believe in God, you can know when God loves a person and Terry Fox is an example of a blessed guy who’s going to be remembered by people around the world. For those who believe in humanity, you can see that making good for all people without any preference is totally better than the hypocrisy of making good for some people and ignoring the rest of them, based on certain political or religious reasons.

Take a Look

Some photos taken by Moza Al Kendi at the Fujairah Terry Fox Run are posted in this photo album.

More From Moza

Reflections on the New Emirates Natural History Group in Fujairah, FIF, 13 February 2012.

More on the Fujairah Terry Fox Run 2012

Fujairah Terry Fox Run Raises Money for Cancer Research and Builds Community, FIF, 25 February 2012.

Making a Statement of Hope on the Fujairah Terry Fox Run, FIF, 24 February 2012.

Banks, Companies, Hotels, Schools Involved in Fujairah Terry Fox Run, FIF, 23 February 2012.

Image: Moza Al Kendi’s photograph of Giscard Zghaib, who proudly wore a picture of his mother who died from cancer in 2007 and Riyad Kamato, who lost his wife to cancer, walking in the 2^nd Fujairah Terry Fox Run.