'A national movement': More than 90,000 volunteers join UAE desert clean up

For over 24 years, hundreds of volunteers would sacrifice their time and energy to walk into the depths of the desert and pick up trash, done in part by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) flagship Clean UAE campaign.

Dr Habiba Al Mar'ashi, co-founder and chairperson of EEG, told Khaleej Times that when the initiative first started in 2002, 4,500 people showed up. This year, more than 90,000 volunteers across the UAE came in support of the environment. “This is not just a cleanup. This is a national movement,” Al Mar’ashi said.

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From sky to sand

J.P. Lemaire and Rob Akron, both pilots at ActionFlight Ras Al Khaimah, have flown over the desert grounds which people would come to set up camp or have a picnic on, seeing firsthand the garbage that would build up in the once beautiful landscape. On this Monday morning, instead of flying high in the hot air balloon or making heart-stopping loops, the pilots decided to come along with their colleagues to clean up the area.

“We've landed our balloons in this area many times.  And we know it's used for campgrounds and things like that.  So, for us to be able to clean up a little bit of the desert means a lot to us, especially since we are flying over a lot of these dunes in Ras Al Khaimah,” Lemaire said.

For Akron, who said he was new to the area, cleaning up the UAE’s desert is a nice opportunity for him to interact with the environment as well as the people. “We're exposing tourists to Ras Al Khaimah, so we have to show what the area is like.  So why not clean it up?” he added.

 Family day out

Twelve-year-old Chris Rajan came with his sister and parents for a family day out dedicated to taking care of the UAE’s land. His parents, Reni and Rajan, said they tagged along to encourage their children, though the kids were already self-driven when it came to environmental initiatives. 

“Our kids are very interested in environmental initiatives and have been consistently participating in EEG campaigns,” Rajan said. “Because it is self-motivated from their side, we felt it would add value if we came as a family. It encourages them and also helps spread the message that families can be part of real action.”

Chris said he knew it was a good initiative to join. “I knew that it would be a really good initiative to come and clean our environment because it’s our responsibility and we live in this country,” he said.

His sister, Christina, said she sees the event as an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to work together towards one goal. “It is a great opportunity for students, teachers, families and different organisations to come together,” she said. “Small activities like this can help create a larger and lasting impact.”

On her day off, Muaawe Shakirah, a waitress at the Pullman resort hotel in Ras Al Khaimah, likes to volunteer in cancer awareness or sustainable initiatives, saying how she doesn’t like to sleep in on her day off.” On Monday it was no different. She came along with her colleagues to Ras Al Khaimah’s pristine desert to help with the clean-up. “I personally like interacting with different kinds of people, so when I heard about (the event), I took the chance and came,” she said.

A million volunteers
Each year, the event only grows, seeing a total participation of 1.7 Mn volunteers since 2002, according to Al Mar’ashi. The Clean UAE campaign is active every December and takes place in all seven emirates. It concludes in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

Al Mar’ashi said the main message the EEG tries to convey is that environmental protection is everybody’s responsibility. “It's beautiful weather, a wonderful place, natural, with nothing artificial in here. Even if you go far, you will find camels, you will find gazelles, you know. So you have wildlife in close contact that you are seeing.  But it requires action from all of us to ensure that it retains its beauty. This is not just the government's responsibility. This is each and every one of us,” she said.

Hind Aldah

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hind@khaleejtimes.com

Hind Aldah covers business, tech, crypto and all that jazz for a younger audience. In her spare time, you will find her playing classical guitar, painting amateur oil paintings, or crocheting the same old scarf that leads nowhere.