An Emirati, who was raised by more than five nannies–mostly Filipinas–in an orphanage, and his Emirati-Filipina wife plan to hold another wedding ceremony in the Philippines after a video clip taken during their wedding sparked debate over traditions in the UAE.
This time, the two hope that they would not be bashed for dancing and eating cake together.
Two weeks ago, the couple tied the knot in untraditional wedding ceremony in Fujairah. Their video showing them dancing together, feeding one another cake, with the bride wearing a fitted dress, spread like wildfire on social media, where in they received hate messages, saying that they ‘disrespected’ Emirati culture.
The National reported that police even intervened to advise them about their behavior in their wedding.
The bride, Mashael Jamal, who was born to an Emirati father and Filipina mother, told The National: “I was so happy during the party. This was my day.”
“An hour after I arrived back to the hotel room after the party. I checked my phone and saw that a video of the party was trending and all over social media,” she said.
Mashael calls for tolerance amid diversity and cultural differences, which hate messages, she said, on social media go against.
“It was a private affair and should not have gone out, but how do we claim tolerance when we send out so many hate message and insult people? That to me goes against our culture and traditions,” the Emirati-Filipina wife added.
Since their wedding video have gone viral, TV guests turned down their appearances on a Ramadan talk show that her husband Ahmed Khamis, 24, hosts.
Ahmed considers himself fortunate that the family of Mashael accepted him for who he is. This was evident when Mashael’s father did not ask for a dowry or a lavish wedding for his daughter, saying that “he could see the kindness in Ahmed’s heart.”
He said: “I can’t describe to you how happy I felt at the time… I was finally going to have a family after being raised in an orphanage my whole life and going through dozens of “mothers… Mama Hashemia, Mama Minteet, Mama Marry… I think around five or six… mostly Filipinas.”
“So when I found out that Mashael’s mother was from the Philippines, I felt warm inside, like it was fate,” he said.
The incident, for all its fair share of highs and lows, spotlights the state of orphans like Ahmed. He said he is proud of his culture and would forever be grateful to the UAE government for its invaluable support since he was little.
The UAE government cradles orphans with good education as well as financial support for their basic needs until they finish school and find decent job.
The wise leadership makes sure that no child in the country would neither feel unwanted nor abandoned.
Source: The National
Photo credit: Ahmad_Meshal_am Instagram
By Mark Nituma
