On 22nd of November PAD witnessed another evening full of Urdu lovers gathered on its lawn to see, listen, and enjoy the unparalleled humor of the living legend of Urdu MUSHTAQ AHMAD YOUSUFI. This was the evening culminating in to the night which, in spite of its coldness of weather and atmosphere, turned out to be warmest in spirit and took away the gloom from hearts and minds as morning sun evaporated the dampness of previous night.

Mushtaq Ahmad Yousufi reading out his articles

Syed Mustaq Ahmad Yousufi was enthusiastically and most affectionately welcomed by the PAD Executive Committee represented by its General Secretary Syed Sabir Husain, and its Joint Secretary Mr. Inayat-ur-Rahman. Mr. Muhammad Khaleeq, as usual, introduced Yousufi and the audience to the history and achievements of PAD with his unique eloquence.

Dr. Fatima Hasan who flew from Pakistan, introduced Mr. Yousufi through her intellectual and literary MAQALA and his long-time friend and an ardent admirer Dr. Aslam Farrukhi provided glimpses of Mr. Yousufi’s works, humor, life and his style. H.E. Khursheed Ahmad Junejo, the Ambassador of Pakistan, welcomed Mr. Yousufi to Pakistan Association and thanked him for being kind enough to accept the invitation of Pakistanis living in UAE. The Consul General of Pakistan was also present at this memorable evening.
After completing all protocols, the awaiting audiences of over 200 Urdu and Yousufi lovers were provided with unprecedented pleasure of Mr. Yousufi’s unique style of humor which, in spite of biting cold under the open skies of PAD, provided a very warm atmosphere. “If laughter is the best medicine” Yousufi is the best doctor to dispense it. He is one of the rarest species of human beings whose sense of humor survived even after spending forty years in Banking Business. His unique sense of humor, crisp language and spontaneous punch lines keep the reader behaving like a lunatic, if watched from distance, reading his works in solitude.

We feel very fortunate of being born at a time of “YOUSUFI’s ERA”. He is an invaluable asset of Pakistan who is still unpolluted by internal and external forces and provides a breeze of fresh air in such a suffocating atmosphere. Pakistan Association Dubai, as a token of recognition of his status, position and his services to Urdu honored Mr. Yousufi by decorating him with Quaid-e-Azam Award of Literature. We wish Mr. Yousufi to remain amongst us as the symbol of hope, humor and good spirit.

Dr. Zulfiqar Ali (MRCP, MRCSEd A&E, PhD, EMDM) Specialist Senior Registrar Emergency & Trauma Center Rashid Hospital Dubai, UAE

Dr. Zulfiqar Ali is a Dubai based emergency physician. He left his birthplace Sialkot at the age of 15 to pursue his education and career. He completed his graduation from Allama Iqbal Medical College, Punjab University Lahore, Pakistan in 1991. In 1995, he joined Ministry of Health, UAE and later DOHMS Dubai in 2004. He obtained MRCP (Ireland) in 2003, MRCSEd A&E (UK) 2005, PhD (US) 2006, and EMDM (Italy) in 2007. He is also in the process of completing FCEM (Fellowship of College of Emergency Medicine, UK) in 2009.

Dr. Zulfiqar’s main interest is to bring disaster medicine to academic level. He has a number of contributions towards this cause including Rashid Hospital Disaster & Rescue Plan (RD&RP), Dubai International Airport Medical Center Emergency Plan, Emergency Department Role Delineation Document, Vision 2015 – The Dubai Plan, Dubai Ports Health Authority – Port Health Rules, etc.

He has presented various talks at National and International forums. His research articles have also been published in many international journals. He is affiliated with AHA, NAEMT, ASHI, ACS and EMA at instructor level. He is also a member of EMDM-A, DWW, and Doctor’s Wing PAD.

Dr. Zulfiqar has received top physician award from Rashid Hospital on “staff appreciation day” in 2006. He is also nominated for Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) Award for “Specialist Employee Category” in 2009.

“It looks like an excellent program. Well done for initiating it - as we all know, it is extremely painful to observe that the image of Pakistan is suffering very badly throughout the world. It is therefore commendable that doctors in Dubai are willing to give up their time and energy to do something about it. Jazak Allah!”

Dr. Tanzeem Raza
Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Wessex UK

“It is really a good effort.”

Dr. Shahid Rashid
Mafraq Hospital, Abu Dhabi

“It is great that at last we have an organization like this. I am with you. Please keep me posted with upcoming events and meetings.

Dr. Rawshan Hussain
Sharjah internatinal Airport Clinic, Sharjah

“It is not very clear to me that it is only for Dubai doctors or for all UAE doctors. Whatever, it is very good effort to make platform for Pakistani people.”

Dr. Nadeem Burney
Al Rahba Hospital, Abu Dhabi

“Thanks for forwarding the invitation to join the Doctors Wing of PAD. Kindly include me as a member.”

Dr. Najia Khan

“This is a great idea, in fact, I had the same dream.”

Dr. Noushad
Rashid Hospital, Dubai

“Congratulations to all the members of Doctors Wing. Hope to see the contribution of all the members towards this noble cause.”

Dr. Firasat Khan
Rashid Hospital, Dubai

Eid Mela

Keeping in mind the national, religious ethos and cultural values, the Ladies Wing of PAD gathers its resources to line up a good mix of social, cultural, educational and religious activities and monthly events to keep everybody informed and involved.

One such event organized by the Ladies Wing was a fun filled evening - Eid Mela on Friday, 21st November 2008 amidst colorful festive atmosphere from 5.00 pm till midnight.

Eid Mela was arranged at the Residence of Consul General of Pakistan. H.E. Dr. Saeed Khan Mohmand himself graced the occasion. Patron in chief of the Ladies Wing, Dr. Faiza Saeed was also present at the venue most of the evening. Amongst the other dignitaries was Madam Amy the wife of the Consul General of Japan in Dubai.

The event was very well attended with an estimated number of 1000 plus guests from various nationalities enjoying shopping at variety of stalls for dresses, jewelry, cosmetics, decorative items, handicrafts, henna painting and home cooked delicacies etc. All items were available at nominal prices.

Hina Pindal for hina painting and jewellery stalls were thronged by ladies and girls of all ages.

The most innovative stall was a “Decorated Thela” with cotton candy & Kulfi.

Family Entertainment Show was conducted by professional DJs. To keep everyone involved games and competitions were organized for all age groups, with lots of gift prizes for the winners and participants. Pakistani music was played in the background throughout the evening.

Live barbecue was the main attraction for family dinner. Free tea sampling was also arranged for the guests.

A Health Awareness stall displayed information brochures and pamphlets of variety of health conditions.

A charity table was set up with variety of items donated by Ladies Wing members & manned by committee members. All the sales proceeds would be used for welfare causes.

These days it seems to take a lot of courage just to get through the newspaper, and even more to watch the news. If one is brave enough to find out what is going on in the world, it becomes impossible to avoid the next question that inevitably arises: what am I doing to help? But then again, what can I do to help? I am an individual who does not have the knowledge, resources, or even the wherewithal to do anything. A lot of people are struggling with these questions. This is why we thought that in this issue of Pehchaan we would tell you about an ordinary woman, a grandmother in fact, who asked herself the same questions. The answers she came up with are, at the very least, inspiring.

The lady in question describes herself as “a simple lady”. She had a nephew with a condition known as HED, which means that he did not have sweat glands. The practical implication of this condition was that any physical activity could cause his body to overheat - simply put, playing could kill him.

One day, in exasperation, she exclaimed to her husband, “If we can put a man on the moon, there must be something we can do”. The logical extension to that line of reasoning, for her, was to call NASA and present her dilemma to them. So, while her husband looked on in disbelief, she proceeded to call NASA. She found out that they actually had a “cool suit” that they had used for some of the missions to the moon. Unfortunately, the suit cost approximately 3,000 US Dollars, a sum the grandmother did not have.

So she proceeded to organize bake sales, garage sales, and whatever else she had to do to raise the money. The fact that she was able to help her nephew is actually the least remarkable part of this story. What she did caught NASA’s attention. They followed her nephew’s progress and put together a documentary on his condition, her solution, and the resulting progress he made.

As can be expected, she was inundated with calls from parents who had children with HED. She decided to start a foundation. This enabled her to approach corporations as well as individuals, and she was able to help hundreds of children like her nephew.

Is this the end of her story? No. Today she, a housewife and a grandmother who never went to college, is a consultant for NASA.

All because she never stopped to focus on her own limitations. She used that energy to focus on the solution instead. She never stopped to look at the simplicity of the solution. She focused her energy on the problem.

This is an invitation to all of us to remember that if we start anything with a positive intention, God will take care of the rest. Perhaps we will actually be able to watch the news and see current events as opportunities for us to make a difference.