ABU DHABI // Eid al Shamsi has by far the best grasp of the English language in his family. He is so good, in fact, that he is teaching his siblings, cousins and parents.
The Emirati is also a dab hand in the kitchen, on the farm and on the football pitch. At 14, Eid has an enviable life. But compared to other autistic children, he is one of the lucky ones.
Autism suffers from a lack of understanding in the UAE, with some parents even keeping their autistic children at home for fear of being stigmatised, according to staff from the Future Centre for Special Needs in Abu Dhabi. Unable to socialise, the children's development can be seriously hampered.
Eid's father, Saif al Shamsi, a traffic police officer in Abu Dhabi, says this needs to change - which is why he and his son will be among the hundreds of people taking part in an autism awareness walk on the capital's corniche tonight. The event, called Light A Candle, begins at 6.30pm at the junction of Corniche Street and 26th Street.
"The only person I have to answer to and get acceptance from is my God, how would I do this if I cannot say I did the best for my children?" he says. "I cannot close the world and just keep him away from everything. This is not right."
Eid has come along in leaps and bounds, thanks in part to a difficult decision by his parents. When he started at the centre, aged five, his parents were told he would cope much better if he concentrated on either the English or Arabic language. Mr al Shamsi chose English.
"It was better for Eid, that is all that mattered," he says. "Now Eid is teaching all the family English. We have a very good family life together."
Eid likes to spend most of his free time with his parents and three brothers, going on trips together to the family's farms in Al Ain. "I love my mama and baba," he says cheerfully. "I like to go to Al Ain, it's very nice and I have lots of family there."
Mr al Shamsi says he is not interested in other people's opinions of his son. "There definitely needs to be more awareness but I am not looking for any acceptance. I would never hide him away and say he doesn't exist. I will do everything that is required from a father to a son."
Eid is one of around 180 pupils at the centre. Dalal Hayouk, 32, a psychology graduate from Lebanon, has been working there for five years.
"Children are much more accepting," she says. "But some parents don't want to take their children out, it is not good for them. I think it is all to do with awareness. Once we make people aware they won't judge."
The non-profit centre receives some government assistance, but also relies heavily on fund-raising - and donations have fallen sharply since the financial crisis.
"We need to pay our staff and cover our costs," says Nipa Bhuptani, the chief of the autism department. "We take as many pupils as we can but it is not easy."
Retaining staff is also difficult, with expatriate teachers often staying for just a year or two.
Parents also face a lack of recognition by the Government. Sumreen Rais has two autistic sons aged nine and 13, yet health authorities refused to give her the certificate she needed to get a disabled parking permit. Now she is taking legal action.
"To park on the other side of the road may not be a problem for some parents," she says. "But my children don't understand danger so the closer I can be to the door, the safer.
"No one seems to understand what it's like; just because it isn't a physical disability they think it isn't as important."
Janine Peckham, 40, recently moved to the UAE with her autistic son Sam Peckham, nine. Sam is quite high functioning but still struggles. He is big for his age and his boisterous behaviour is often mistaken for naughtiness.
Mrs Peckham, however, said she has found the local population to be more accommodating than her fellow western expatriates.
"Sam has been fascinated by women in abayas and he would often go up and touch them in the malls," she says. "They were actually very understanding.
"I have had some problems with other people who have got very angry at him because they don't understand his behaviour."
Mrs Bhuptani, the director of the autism centre, insists that without making special needs issues more high profile, things will never change.
"Everyone has to take notice," she urges. "These children deserve the best."
munderwood@thenational.ae
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
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The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
KINGDOM%20OF%20THE%20PLANET%20OF%20THE%20APES
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Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Stage 2 results
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 04:18:18
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:02
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:04
4 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates
5 Rick Zabel (GER) Israel Start-Up Nation
General Classification
1 Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal 07:47:19
2 Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:12
3 Arnaud Demare (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 00:00:16
4 Nikolai Cherkasov (RUS) Gazprom-Rusvelo 00:00:17
5 Alexey Lutsensko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 00:00:19
