Filipinos in the UAE have recently witnessed an awe-inspiring display at the Dubai Festival City Mall where their record-breaking IMAGINE show was customized especially for the celebration of the 121st Philippine Independence Day for the first time in history here in Dubai.
Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, on the sidelines of the IMAGINE show at the Dubai Festival City Mall that he inaugurated, expressed his elation and sincere gratitude to the kind gesture and initiative of the UAE government and private entities. “This is the first time that we have a venue in Dubai that highlights the importance and recognizes the contributions of the Filipinos here in Dubai and the UAE. Now this is also a wonderful tool to spread awareness of who we are as a people, what we can contribute, and what role we play in a multicultural society such as that of the UAE. I’d like to extend my warmest and sincerest and deepest gratitude to the Dubai Festival City Mall Management for coming up with an initiative such as this,” said Cortes.
Growing trust
Cortes also shared his insight that the approval of the initiative has likewise shown the UAE’s trust and confidence of the Filipinos’ contributions towards improving the country as a whole: “It shows how much the UAE has welcomed the Filipino community. It shows how much they give their trust in that we are able to contribute to the overall betterment of the UAE society.”
The consul general said that with trust comes the opportunity to pay it forward and inspire fellow migrant communities living here in the UAE to show that Filipinos can inspire change and spread positive influence. “We have to inspire the migrant communities also to make them realize their own potential in the same way that their journey such as ours in the UAE, is that of trying to find our niche under the sun, contributing to the betterment not only for our respective communities at that, but to the betterment of humanity for that matter. In a global, multicultural setting such as that of the UAE’s where tolerance, acceptance and welcoming of diverse cultures, languages and hearts are concerned, this is something very important for everyone.
Brandish your Pinoy Pride, with a heart
ConGen Cortes also stressed that the trust that the UAE has placed to the Philippines is also accompanied with the responsibility to be better and do better: “When people put their trust in us, when people understand what we are as a people and how we can contribute, we have to make sure that we are as responsible not simply to live by the expectations of others, but to keep in mind that other people have put their faith and trust in us as well.”
He expressed that the way Filipinos show their pride should be relatable and be the example for others to emulate and instill all of the good traits that Filipinos are known for. “Let’s keep everything in perspective: Let’s be proud of who are. Let’s be proud in our music, in our culture, in our heritage, but at the same time, let’s be proud and make sure that we make people understand and be inspired by the way we are proud of ourselves,” said Cortes.
Overcoming cultural barriers
Cortes hopes that with the celebration of the Philippine Independence here in the UAE, Filipinos would tear down cultural barriers and be more open to other nationalities about their own authentic brand as Global Filipinos. “Be who you are, celebrate your music, celebrate pride and celebrate their music and celebrate their pride as well. This is something that needs to be inculcated into the minds of everyone because for as long as we delineate that, ‘this is my culture, this is your culture’ ‘that’s who you are, this is who I am’, then we keep those boundaries that make melting and blending together as one become more difficult,” said Cortes.
The consul general furthered that there’s no better place to do so than in the UAE, where over 200 nationalities reside in unity, harmony and tolerance. “We would love to share our happiness and our joy in being Filipino in that of the Philippine Independence Day festivities, not only with the Filipino community but with the rest of the ethnicities and nationalities as well. In a global, multicultural setting such as that of the UAE’s where tolerance, acceptance and welcoming of diverse cultures, languages and hearts are concerned, this is something very important for everyone: Our happiness is your happiness, and your happiness is also ours and that is very important in a place like the UAE that has welcomed everybody on Earth here in this part of the world,” shared Cortes.
