I’m sure all of you dear readers who are based in the UAE and Middle East are already looking forward to the next long weekend. We, non-Muslims in the region, are so fortunate to enjoy the two Eid holidays, especially starting November 2019 when the UAE cabinet approved a unified national holidays resolution for the public and private sectors. We, corporate staff, got to enjoy the same number of days as what government employees have been getting before.
The next long weekend then is the UAE National Day celebrations on November 30 (Commemoration Day) and December 2 and 3 (UAE National Day). The government might declare December 1 a holiday, too. Fingers crossed. These countries are also having their own national days on September 23 (Saudi Arabia), November 18 (Oman), December 16 (Bahrain), and December 18 (Qatar).
Last year, the UAE National Day holiday was branded as Eid Al Etihad. So over and above the three Eid holidays in the UAE, we are also blessed with the mandated 30-day holiday leave for regular employees.
This year, my wife and I have fully spent the two Eids with a purpose and mission. We went on mission to our CFC community in Malawi during Eid Al Fitr and recently we visited our son Yuji in Taipei where he is taking up his master’s degree. The joy that we saw on the faces of our brothers and sisters in the southern African country and of our son had removed the tiredness we experienced having to go to the airport at 1 am and flying for eight to nine hours one way. It was the same feeling going back to Dubai. Both trips were worth every minute – and dirham.
Last April 23, my wife Rachel was a guest of Randy Lamsen of Pinas Travel on his FB show Travel Talks. The theme was ‘Travelling with a Purpose and Mission’, which I borrowed as the title of this column. She narrated with the viewers the countries where she has visited and most of them were for our CFC community and for our wedding anniversary celebration. We had served once in Egypt and Qatar, thrice in Malawi, and four times in Mozambique. We had also attended the CFC Middle East Planning in Lebanon, Qatar, and Oman, as well as the Middle East Conference in Bahrain.
As for our May 18 wedding anniversary, this year we celebrated our 29th in Rome while attending the first batch of the CFC Global Conference. Previously, we went to the Holy Land (Israel and Palestine Territories), Georgia and Singapore. It was her second time in the Holy Land and she still wants to go back there.
My work has brought me to several countries. I take care of Corporate Communications and assists our overseas locations whenever they have major events and inaugurations such as in Riyadh and Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Nairobi (Kenya), Juba (South Sudan), Doha (Qatar), Sohar (Oman), and Colombo (Sri Lanka). I also accompanied our Group CEO in Ulsan, South Korea for the delivery of our newly built vessels from the Hyundai Dockyard in 2016 and in attending the Institute of Directors (IOD – India) annual global convention in London in 2019 and from 2022 to last year, where he was always one of the Keynote Speakers.
When I was working with ABS-CBN Middle East in the mid-2000s, I had regularly covered all the major cities in the GCC countries as part of my job in promoting The Filipino Channel. My favorite route was the Jeddah-Riyadh-Al Khobar-Bahrain swing. It took me about 10 days to cover these cities. Sometimes, I take a two-country swing, from Qatar to Kuwait, and from Oman to Bahrain.
Traveling broadens one’s perspective in life as you get to experience different cultures and meet various nationalities along your journey. Travelling with a purpose and mission reminds you of God’s abundant blessings in your life. Let then God direct you where to travel come UAE National Day.
Note: The columnist is a 24-year resident of Dubai and is currently working as Head of Corporate Communications of a global energy logistics company. He is a former Filipino Community Leader and is now active with a global Catholic movement promoting the renewal of Christian family life. He can be reached at artlosbanos@gmail.com
