I was privileged to join the Hogan Lovells conference on Championing Africa in July. An important discussion was around creating a positive environment during crisis and some very inspirational ideas were exchanged. True leadership is continuing to do exceptional things even during challenging times. Everyone is dealing with similar challenges today; what makes a prodigious leader who is able to manage through fear unknown to our times?



There are some countries that have walked the talk and none better than the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that has been our home for the last 31 years. The region has seen the worst crisis with oil prices flirting at the lowest in a decade, tourism coming to a standstill, Expo 2020 Dubai and a host of other conferences being postponed, the airline industry being annihilated and a massive exodus of expatriates resulting from job losses. The initial response caused by uncertainty was no different than in all other parts of the world; the fear of the unknown was evident in the decision-making. The gloom from Europe and the United States gave cause to get into a huddle to find short-term solutions mainly to slow down the spread of the pandemic. The initial shutdowns followed by the easing of restrictions, brought back a sense of relief and confidence but more than anything, there were several factors that gave citizens comfort.



The first was the visibility of the leaders. From time immemorial, soldiers on the battlefield fought relentlessly as long as they saw their flag flying; it gave them hope. In today’s context, this confidence comes from leaders who have the fortitude to stand before their people and give them an accurate picture of the crisis; the good and the bad. The UAE leadership kept everyone updated regarding the healthcare facilities and challenges, causes for the spread but more importantly, the tangible steps being taken to address the pandemic.



The second was the integrity of the community in general. The UAE is the unprejudiced home to 150 nationalities and is the greatest melting pot of cultures. It was overwhelming to see people help each other in small but meaningful ways. The governance in the country was strengthened to a point where predatory or mercenary conduct was completely nonexistent; there have been no examples of covid-preneurs or carpetbaggers during this period. There is nothing worse than witnessing the soulless profiteering from the misfortune of others.



The third was in catalyzing community activities and fund-raisers to help the needy. Campaigns requesting contributions of US$ 2 per meal were initiated to provide millions of food packets to the needy which not only helped people that were suffering but the orders were placed with small business owners who could provide the food packets at a time when restaurants were closed. The government does not have the resources to meet every need of its constituents but acts as a catalyst to bring stakeholders together and achieve multi-dimensional results.



The fourth was the celebration of stories of personal sacrifice and selflessness, initiatives of the public and private sector and the announcement of new initiatives and projects. At every opportunity, the government recognized citizens who had helped others, the sacrifice of healthcare workers, the police department and many other stakeholders. It regularly announced the infrastructure and healthcare plans that were being prepared and the resources being deployed in dealing with the pandemic. Being an economically developed nation, the UAE has also assisted countries as far away as Brazil and has received the appreciation of global leaders. Additionally, as some projects and activities (Expo 2020 Dubai) were being delayed, the country announced and celebrated the launch of Orbiter Hope, its Mars Mission, on 19th July 2020 and its nuclear energy project that would supplement the energy needs of the country.



The fifth example was in finding opportunities in the crisis. Other than ensuring that the services, including judicial and immigration, remained uninterrupted there was an effort from the government to ensure that it stayed alert to the changing environment and adapted to the needs of the present. The situation in March was very different and armed with the knowledge of what worked and what didn’t, the government took bold decisions to manage some of its crisis sectors. The badly-hit Emirates and Etihad airlines remained open for business by taking stranded passengers from different parts of the world and rather than focus on the crisis and layoffs, the only messaging was on the various initiatives that were being taken and the routes being opened. Similarly, the country will now play host to the annual Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament which is a star-studded tournament hosted annually in India. This will turn around the complete hospitality industry from September to November this year. Additionally, as the Chinese government is facing difficulties finding friends, the UAE will play host to scores of companies that are setting up to take advantage of the geographic location and connectivity of the country.



Finally, the government recognized the value and proactively engaged the media to ensure that the messaging was accurate, timely and balanced. Nothing is more damaging than misinformed or irresponsible media at a time of crisis and it is in the hands of the government to ensure that proper touch points are established to provide information so that there is no speculation on critical matters. This element of external communications is so important to provide comfort not only to your own people but also to the international community that is engaging at different levels; tourism, investments, trade, commerce, sports etc.



We need to learn from what people around us are doing right and stay positive. Roy T. Bennett said it aptly in his book, The Light in the Heart: “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” The only way to span a crisis is to stay positive and innovate.

Rakesh Wahi

Remaining Positive In Crisis: What The UAE Got Right

In this exclusive interview with FORBES AFRICA, successful Dubai-based Emirati businesswoman, author and artist, Sheikha Hend Faisal Al Qassimi, shares some interesting insights on fashion, the future, and feminism in a shared world.



Sheikha Hend Faisal Al Qassimi wears many hats, as an artist, architect, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). She currently serves as the CEO of Paris London New York Events &amp; Publishing (PLNY), that includes a magazine and a fashion house.



She runs Velvet Magazine, a luxury lifestyle publication in the Gulf founded in 2010 that showcases the diversity of the region home to several nationalities from around the world. 



In this recent FORBES AFRICA interview, Hend, as she would want us to call her, speaks about the future of publishing, investing in intelligent content, and learning to be a part of the disruption around you.



As an entrepreneur too and the designer behind House of Hend, a luxury ready-to-wear line that showcases exquisite abayas, evening gowns and contemporary wear, her designs have been showcased in fashion shows across the world.



The Middle East is known for retail, but not typically, as a fashion hub in the same league as Paris, New York or Milan. Yet, she has changed the narrative of fashion in the region. “I have approached the world of fashion with what the customer wants,” says Hend. In this interview, she also extols African fashion talent and dwells on her own sartorial plans for the African continent.



In September, in Downtown Dubai, she is scheduled to open The Flower Café. Also an artist using creative expression meaningfully, she says it’s important to be &#8220;a role model of realism&#8221;.



She is also the author of The Black Book of Arabia, described as a collection of true stories from the Arab community offering a real glimpse into the lives of men and women across the Gulf Cooperation Council region.



In this interview, she also expounds on her home, Sharjah, one of the seven emirates in the UAE and the region’s educational hub. “A number of successful entrepreneurs have started in this culturally-rich emirate that’s home to 30 museums,” she concludes.&nbsp;

Sheikha Hend

From The Arab World To Africa

The sun beat down on Marco Broccardo and his fellow walkers, Alex Harris and David Joyce, as they crossed the Empty Quarter, from Oman to the United Arab Emirates. They were determined to make history as the first people to walk unsupported across the Arabian Desert. They traveled light – one set of clothes for 40 days – and sweated in 51 degree Celsius heat amid silent dunes.
As he closed his eyes to feel the breeze on his skin, he remembered a time when the demons of drug addiction led him to dark places that almost ended his life.
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It was downhill from the age of 13. Broccardo experimented with drugs and alcohol on the streets of Johannesburg. It wasn’t long before he was hooked. He broke into houses, stole from employers and sold off anything that wasn’t nailed down in his parents’ house.
“In my most desperate times I would’ve done anything for drugs. If you had told me to kill someone, I would’ve killed someone. I even thought of killing my own parents to get the inheritance.”
He also got tangled in drug cartels, borrowing from one to pay another.
“The Israeli mafia came to my house with guns one night when I was sleeping and my parents were downstairs. They wanted their money. So obviously my parents paid them.”
In an act of desperation he pretended he had been kidnapped, expecting his parents to pay ransom which he would use for drugs. The plan failed when his mother, who had also attempted suicide, stood firm.
“She told them, ‘its fine you can kill him. Just do me a favor, don’t bother me again.’”
Shocked at her response, Broccardo decided that he was going to show them. That night he took an overdose of painkillers. It was the first of three suicide attempts. The second was almost the last.
“I went into the bathroom and I pulled out the razor from my shaver.  I was sitting in the bath, it was a quarter full with water, and I thought ‘let me just end it’.”
Broccardo stabbed his arm, ripped across and cut his femoral artery. Blood sprayed everywhere as he slowly drifted away.
All of a sudden there was a jolt to his heart as the hands of paramedics revived him. He woke up in Johannesburg General Hospital to the angry gaze of his parents. Again he lost consciousness, woke up in theater as doctors put in an artificial vein. The next stop was the psychiatric ward. Over the years he had become a master manipulator who had fooled many psychiatrists. This time the psychiatrist saw through him and sent him to Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital, a place for the criminally insane.
“I remember walking into the common area where the TV was and guys were arguing about the TV and what they were going to watch but the TV wasn’t working. I thought to myself, ‘gosh these guys are crazy’, and three weeks later I was arguing about the same thing.”
After six weeks in Sterkfontein, Broccardo was released for a month, for good behavior, to complete a nature conservation course.
“It was the longest I had been clean since I was 13. I didn’t think about using when I was in the bush, I was really enjoying life.”
Soon after his release, he worked at a game reserve in KwaZulu Natal and when things went south, his father got him a job on a plot outside the city. After a brief visit home, his mother gave him money for his journey back.
“I went straight to Hillbrow with the petrol money she had given me and I started using that whole afternoon. And in this process, because the car was a bit messed up, I would phone her from a ticky box (public phone) and tell her that I had gone so far and the car had broken down.”
When the drugs ran out, Broccardo was so desperate he planned to rob a petrol station with his father’s gun. Instead he exchanged the gun for $140 worth of cocaine with a drug dealer.
“As I was driving I started to feel a bit strange and I knew I normally felt that way before I had seizure. I had already had two major car accidents because of seizures. In one, I crushed my legs and was told that I would never play sport again and walk with a limp.”
Suddenly everything went black.
Broccardo woke up on the side of the road surrounded by emergency vehicles and a policeman demanding his name.
In the hospital there was no fury like that of his mother.
“She came up to me and slapped me in the face and she said to me, ‘Why can’t you just die? At least if I knew you were dead, I could bury you and I would know at least you weren’t hurting yourself or anyone else.”
His family sent him to rehab and asked him not to make contact. Broccardo vowed he wouldn’t leave until he got clean.
He spent three years at Noupoort Christian Care Center where he got clean, became a counselor, met his wife and found faith.
“For once, I could be accepted by someone who knew all the bad things I had done and still died for me on the cross… The story of redemption is what my whole life was aiming towards. It changed my life.”
Broccardo spent a few years working in sales and banking but wanted more from life. His dream was to use his story to help addicts.
At the age of 24, Broccardo started Mountain Heights, a center that counsels addicts.
“This crazy idea of climbing mountains and walking across deserts, doing things that are physically challenging and insurmountable, can be overcome. Addiction is just another mountain.”
He struggled to find sponsors, so he started Eurocom, a new media and mobile marketing company, to bankroll his dream.
With backing from Eurocom, Broccardo has climbed three of the seven summits (Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Kosciusko in Australia and Aconcagua in Argentina) and walked across the Arabian Desert though heat and sandstorms. Music, sermons and bible verses kept him going.
“It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life but [while doing] it I hated every minute of it. It was hard, it was backbreaking, it was tiring. There wasn’t a day when I wasn’t counting how many days until it was over.”
At the end of the 1208-kilometer journey, the three men reached the coast of Dubai. They dipped their feet in water and wept.
Broccardo put himself through hell on the streets of Johannesburg and survived to become an entrepreneur. Luckily for him, it didn’t kill him but only made him stronger.

Tag: United Arab Emirates

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Remaining Positive In Crisis: What The UAE Got Right

From The Arab World To Africa

Drug Deep Mountain High