Al Ain // When she was only seven years old Kathleen Kennedy would hold a torch while her mother delivered babies at night.
"I wasn't scared, I just wanted to help in any way," she said, recalling her younger years at Oasis Hospital in Al Ain, founded 50 years ago by her parents, Pat and Marian Kennedy.
Back then, "every birth was a crisis", she said.
"My mother would have to sometimes sleep on a bed next to the patient, who would be bleeding or needed blood, then my father would connect them with tubes. She was O negative [a universal donor] - so perfect for all."
Kathleen, her sister Nancy and their brothers, Scott and Douglas, arrived from the United States with their parents on November 20, 1960. Sheikh Zayed, the late President of the UAE, donated his guest house to use as the hospital.
Nancy's earliest memory was of sleeping next to a baby fox. The cub was a gift from a grateful patient.
"We never asked for money," said Kathleen, who attended a ceremony yesterday with her sibling to mark the anniversary of the hospital.
"But with Arabs, they never wanted to feel like they were in debt. So they would do this out of honour," she said.
"These women were so patient back then and used to wait in Sheikh Zayed's guest house. They would sit for hours after travelling for days where there was no air conditioning."
Although Pat and Marian Kennedy had been trained as family doctors, there were times when they had to perform operations.
"When a bullet is shot at weddings, the bullet has to go somewhere," Kathleen said.
Yesterday's celebration, attended by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, was held at the Al Ain Palace Museum, his father's former home.
"I used to come here with my mum to visit Sheikha Fatima and her son Sheikh Mohammed," Nancy said.
"We were around the same age and grew up together. Back then the place was made of mud, not cement like today.
"Sheikh Mohammed was the sixth birth at the hospital. Of course we didn't know he would be a sheikh, but my mum was so proud later when we knew."
The sisters will spend the next few days visiting childhood friends who did not make it to the event. Their father died in 2000 and their mother in 2008.
"We already met many of our local friends when we got here, and some members of the Royal Family," said Nancy.
"When we sit together, we always laugh about how long it used to take us to go from one place to another. Every trip was an adventure."
Dr David Printy, the president and chief executive of Oasis Hospital, said he was thrilled the Kennedys had made it.
"In 1960, 35 per cent of women died in labour. Al Ain's population was 18,000 at that time and it was decreasing. The Kennedy family helped to put a stop to this.
"News of the Kennedys travelled across the region up to Syria, and we treated everyone, from labourers to Royal Family, whether they could pay or not."
When it was founded only 50 per cent of babies survived but now the infant mortality has been slashed to less than 1 per cent.
More than 90,000 babies have been born in the hospital, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Today the hospital has 47 doctors and 50 private rooms. By 2012, the medical centre is expected to expand, with a Dh300 million hi-tech centre that will quadruple the number of beds.
During Kathleen's speech, which she delivered half in Bedu, she quoted her mother: "This is where we learnt to know some of the most wonderful people in the world."
osalem@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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