ABU DHABI // A huge round of applause swept through the Hilton hotel ballroom yesterday as children and adults shared animated anecdotes about life in Palestine and recited poetry in support of Jerusalem during the award ceremony for the Jerusalem Short Story contest.
The competition, held by the Palestinian Social Committee under the patronage of Dr Khairi al Oraidi, the Palestinian ambassador to the UAE, attracted more than 1,300 participants from 30 countries including the US, Canada, Australia, Germany, Morocco and Kuwait.
Children as young as six took part in the contest, 197 of them from the UAE, the third largest contributor to the competition.
Despite the different backgrounds and ages, all the writers had one thing in common - the special place held in their hearts for Jerusalem.
While the first round of the competition required the authors to write short-stories about Palestine, the second round left the topic up to their imaginations.
Abdul Rahman, a 10-year-old from Abu Dhabi, came second in the age six to 12 category with his story Maher: the Artist.
The youngster said his creativity and passion for writing immediately spurred him to enter the contest. He decided to draw his inspiration from his personal experiences and interests. "I love to draw and paint, and so I wrote the story about a young boy who loves art," he said.
Hind al Bare, 21, who was also from the UAE, came second in the age 17-25 category with "The Cap of History."
Ms al Bare was writing for a larger purpose, however, to dispel what she believed to be an incorrect perception of certain well-known classical Arab writers. Ms al Bare, who has a keen interest in literature and participates in such competitions at any given opportunity, said she has a particular fascination in literature that dates back to the Abbassid period.
Her story, about a female student studying literature who gets a magical hat that can transport her back in time to meet different well-known writers such as Al Mutannabi and Abu al Alaa al Maari, is a reflection of herself.
"I wish I could truly find such a device so that I can meet these poets and writers for myself and clear the many misconceptions that exist about them today," she said.
Like Ms al Bare. Ameera Mashaly, a 15-year-old from Egypt, also used her life experiences as a drawing board for ideas. She wrote The Lonely Scream, a story about a young girl who develops a friendship with a younger girl who was suffering from loneliness. She came third in her age group.
"I knew such a girl," Ms Mashaly said. "And I hoped my story would bring attention to the issue."
Ms Mashaly said that everyone needs a strong support circle, especially when they are going through a difficult time as the people of Palestine.
Dr Afaf Bataineh, an associate professor of Arabic at Zayed University in Dubai and one of the panel judges, said the competition was a great way to give people of all ages and backgrounds a platform to express their thoughts, feelings and concerns.
"This competition is important not only because it carries the name of Jerusalem and reminds the Arab world about Palestine, but also because it associates Jerusalem with literary creativity and young emerging Arab voices throughout the world," she said.
"Regardless of whether or not the participants were Palestinian, most writers chose to focus on Palestine," Ms Bataineh added. "The [initiative] created a sphere for Arab people to share their commitment to the Palestinian cause."
The winners, who fell into five different age categories, with first, second and third place winners in each category shared Dh31,000.
The winner in the 40 years and over category was the Tunisian author Ibrahim Darghouthy with What Asfahini Didn't Mention in his Song Books, about an Arabic composer who lived more than 700 years ago.