by Prof Bill Mikhail
The humanitarian reality currently unfolding in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Al-Aqsa flood adventure is occupying world interest. This is especially true since more than two-thirds of the victims who have fallen in the Israeli bombing are women and children. These women and children seemingly have no fault in the game of wounded and death that is taking place, with the images of children of the fate of children remaining the most painful for us to observe. Their severe injuries due in part to their soft bodies is traumatic, but especially bothersome is the signs of panic and shock on their innocent faces. Something had to be done for these children. This something was the initiative of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, President of the UAE, to undertake the treatment of a thousand children from Gaza, host them with their families, and provide all types aid including extensive medical and health care. In UAE hospitals are providing for all their needs and preserving their human dignity.
This initiative comes in the context of the UAE’s trend in general in consolidating humanitarian concepts and values, and that the human being and preserving human dignity take precedence over all matters. This humanitarian trend of maintaining human dignity is a priority, and the approach of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in particular, who has earned a reputation as a global man of humanity as witnessed by the whole world through his current and previous efforts. Sheikh Mohammed, directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, to contact the head of the committee. To work to secure the exit of these children, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoliatric, did not spare any diplomatic or political effort to find a solution to stop the deadly round of violence for innocent children and women in the Gaza Strip, but he did so without paying attention to the evil tongues that tried and are trying to undermine the Emirati role. The role that I was unable to play, even if it were an atom as large as those cacophonous voices and those standing behind them is being accomplished by this great humanitarian.
The generous initiative of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed comes as a culmination of the UAE’s humanitarian and relief initiatives for the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza were already besieged, but this flood of human sadness came to exacerbate their humanitarian plight. The UAE was the first to launch solidarity relief campaigns, so it was the first round of the Tarahum campaign, which provided nearly 10,000 relief shares to the residents of the Strip, in support of the people.
The UAE’s support for the Palestinian people is old and not the result of a circumstantial emotional moment, but rather a policy it has pursued since the era of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The UAE has always stood by the Palestinian people, embraced them, and defended their right to live within a sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
When examining Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed’s initiative towards the children of Gaza, we must record some quick points:
First, he is the first head of state to announce such an initiative towards the children of Gaza and host them with their families in the Emirates of Charity, which is the humanitarian initiative being studied.
Second, the initiative comes in response to the global humanitarian call for the need to provide everything that will protect civilians of all ages in the Gaza Strip. Third, although the title of the initiative is treating children, merely hosting them with their families gives it an additional dimension on the humanitarian level, which is that the UAE provides relief to the Palestinian people without discrimination preserving the dignity of a people who suffer.
Finally, it remains to point out that the initiative of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and the rest of the Emirati initiatives are practical embodiments of the UAE’s global humanitarian approach and strategy in general. This strategy is working to secure safety, health, human dignity and all rights to children, the most precious thing being impacted by these devastating events in Gaza.