Combating coronavirus: Families in UAE get ready for virtual Eid celebrations

Top Stories

Photo: Ryan Lim/KT
Photo: Ryan Lim/KT

Dubai - Sticking to the social distancing policy, UAE residents are now planning to take their celebrations - online.

By Saman Haziq

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Tue 19 May 2020, 9:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 20 May 2020, 2:53 PM

For families, Eid Al Fitr is a special occasion to come together and even go house to house to exchange greetings with friends and relatives - but not this year. Sticking to the social distancing policy, UAE residents are now planning to take their celebrations - online.
It's going to be an all-day video call session for expat Roohi Diwan, who will be marking Eid away from her husband for the first time. Diwan and her three-year-old kid have gone to India for a wedding, leaving her husband in Dubai.
"Although we have been stuck here in India for more than two months now, we are hopeful that this phase will end soon. My husband is very fond of our daughter so we will probably be online with him all day on Eid," Diwan said.
"We are grateful that at least we have the technology to help us see each other and celebrate our festival together."
She is even planning to make her husband's favourite Eid dishes and share them with him - virtually.
"I'll keep him posted through video and through photographs so he feels we are all together."
Ajman-based expat Ayesha Sadikha Sheik, along with her two kids, is also preparing for a similar e-celebration with her husband who is stranded in India.
"This will be the very first Eid in tour 10 years of marriage when I will be seeing my husband not by my side but on the computer screen," she said.
"I could never imagine how people who don't get to go home on Eid get through this but this time I am going to experience it.
"Every Eid we would all get dressed and go for prayers, this time we will get dressed and sit in front of the computer screen to meet and greet my husband."
Ayesha has in fact planned to bring in more family members together though a conference call.
Dubai expat Quaid Joher Buryawala is also spending Eid away from the UAE after 20 years, but he will be staying in touch with his family and friends here.
"I came to India with my wife and son to see my in-laws who were not well, however, since we all our stuck here, we will connect with our family and friends through Zoom meeting on Eid," Quaid said.
"I have planned to do a video meeting right after the morning Eid prayer time as that's how we used to meet and greet our friends and relatives in Dubai. We are missing the UAE sorely and we hope to return soon."
saman@khaleejtimes.com
 
 

Combating coronavirus, covid19, Families in UAE, get ready, virtual, Eid celebrations

More news from