This weekend will be our 22nd year in celebrating UAE National Day. There are many great things to thank the country for and number one is our health. The UAE was one of the very first countries to provide Covid-19 vaccines to all its citizens, residents and even visitors. My wife and son received two Sinopharm vaccines and two Pfizer boosters. Our nephew who is on a visit visa received two Pfizer vaccines. The UAE was the best place to be in during the pandemic.
Our medical treatments and regular check-ups, including our dental and optical needs, are charged to our health insurance which is a requirement to all private companies by the UAE government. I remember in our first three years all consultations, laboratory tests and medicines were free at the government-owned Rashid Hospital.
We were able to travel to the Holy Land by direct flight last May because of the diplomatic relationship established by the UAE with Israel at the height of the pandemic in August 2020. It was a very memorable trip for me and my wife as we celebrated our 26th anniversary by renewing our marriage vow at the Wedding Church of Cana. Now there are many Filipino based in the UAE who are going to the Holy Land like our friends Buboy and Zeny Requizo who arrived there last Sunday for a 7-day pilgrimage.
For Maria Paz Calaguian-Mejia the Christmas season in the UAE is very memorable: “Designing and installing for hotels every year their Christmas decorations are really the most wonderful things in the world. The feeling of seeing people having their photos taken in front of them and being shared in social media platforms is something that make you forget all those sleepless nights, pressure and tiredness that you have experienced during the process. And the same feeling is repeated in all the works that we have done also for commercial stores in the malls and private homes.” Paz has been living and working for almost 19 years in the country with her family.
In my August 2 column on What is/are your most memorable experience/s in the UAE? I enumerated five encounters which I will be forever grateful.
Dubai Marathon: I completed for the very first time running non-stop in the 10K course of the Dubai Marathon on January 25, 2019 clocking 01:21:51. What enabled me to run non-stop was the Yoga sessions my wife and I had been attending since May 2018 at Discovery Gardens. The breathing or prayamana exercises enhanced my breathing which made me run comfortably. The daily Yoga sessions continue to be held in various areas of Jebel Ali. They are conducted for free by volunteers of the BYS Group in Dubai.
On November 19, 2021, I participated at the first Expo Fun Run and completed the 5k course in 37 minutes. And then there was a bonus fun run along Sheikh Zayed Road on November 26, 2021.
Pope Francis Mass: I served as Extra Ordinary Minister of the Holy Communion on February 5, 2019 when Pope Francis held a mass at the Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It was reported by the authorities that 180,000 people came from all the seven emirates and even neighboring countries as it was the first time a pope visited the UAE and the whole Arabian Peninsula. Recently, Pope Francis visited Bahrain on November 5 for his second mass in the region.
Entrepreneurship: I ventured as an entrepreneurial PR consultant in 2010 and 2011. It was a fulfilling experience but I failed. At that time companies were still in a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude on the continuing effects of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. I earned decently but the amount from all my clients and projects, if averaged monthly, was very far from what I was earning from Venture Communications where I was Head of the PR Department. I have no regrets. Actually, my experience made me more confident in giving advise which I am doing in my current work.
Career with Tristar Group: I celebrated my 10th year with the Tristar Group on April 29 this year. I was recruited by the Founder and CEO a decade ago to join his Senior Management team to be in charge of Corporate Communications. This was my professional dream job when I was in the Philippines that one day I will head the communications department of a major company. More than two weeks ago I was in London for a convention of business leaders, corporate governance professionals and sustainability experts with our CEO and Chief Administrative Officer. Next week I will be in Riyadh for a conference of the petrochemicals industry where our CEO will participate in a panel discussion.
FEME Advocacy: I initiated the Filipino Excellence movement on September 22, 2008 when I conducted a lecture before more than 30 professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders, including mainstream media professionals, urging everyone that it was high time to widely and systematically publicize and promote Filipino products, enterprises, and events in the UAE mainstream media.
On October 26, 2010, the Filipino Excellence in the Middle East or FEME advocacy was officially launched when my wife, broadcast journalist Rachel Salinel, and I co-hosted a radio show on Dubai Eye 103.8 FM every other Tuesday night till February 2013. We invited guests from various economic classes and professional categories, including entrepreneurs and Philippine government officials, to share their struggles and best practices. We wanted our listeners to be inspired by their stories, to be encouraged to overcome their own challenges, and to be empowered just like how the guests were able to stand up again and become triumphant. Consequently in 2016, we launched the FEME Connect free directory of professionals, entrepreneurs and talents and the FEME Forum, a by-invitation small gathering where subject-matter experts on business enterprise and relevant issues interact with our selected guests.
Happy 51st UAE National Day. Shukran Jaziilan. Thank You. Maraming Salamat.
Enjoy the long weekend dear The Global Filipino Magazine readers. Stay safe and stay hea