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Tearful reunion of mother, son

DUBAI — Faisal Saeed Mohammed, 25-year-old UAE national, was yesterday reunited with his Egyptian mother who was stranded in Lebanon along with her 12- year- old son Ayman.

The mother and 12- year-old half- brother were evacuated from Lebanon and flown on Emirates EK 912 flight from Damascus to Dubai late last night, on the instructions of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Faisal, who works for the Department of Auqaf in Ras Al Khaimah, thanked Shaikh Mohammed for ordering the evacuation of the family following an appeal made by him in the local newspapers to save his mother and younger brother who were on a visit to Lebanon when the Israeli attacks started. The State Security Department at Dubai Police arranged to evacuate them and transfer them to the UAE in coordination with the foreign ministry and the UAE embassy in Beirut.

In a tearful reunion after arriving at the Dubai International Airport around 9.30 pm, Faisal said, he could not believe that his mother was back home safely. “Shaikh Mohammed's name should go down in the history for his humanitarian gesture and support extended to the needy,” he said, disclosing he was surprised to have received such quick response to his appeal from the Dubai Ruler.

“I was confident that he would extend all support and assistance, but was expecting the support to come through maybe after a week or so. But, it is remarkable that the Dubai Ruler has responded to my appeal within 48 hours and today my mother and brother are here with me in the UAE.”

He also thanked the foreign ministry and UAE embassy officials in Beirut for extending all support in bringing back his mother and brother to Dubai. Faisal also thanked Adnan Shammagh. a Lebanese national who helped move the mother and her son to Syria.

Meanwhile, Emirates Airline refused to comment on the evacuation of the mother and son team to Dubai. However in a statement issued earlier, an airline official noted that following the outbreak of war in Lebanon, the Emirates began increasing its operation by four flights a day between Dubai and Damascus in an effort to assist in the evacuation of people from the war-torn country.

Faisal had last month visited his mother who lived in Western Beirut after marrying a Lebanese national. Her husband had passed away and she lived with her 12- year-old son until the war broke out in Lebanon. Faisal disclosed, he will make efforts to make all arrangements for the mother and brother to stay with him in the UAE and will also support his brother's schooling.

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