Arab Family Day participants praise Yemen [Archives:2009/1221/Last Page]
January 1 2009
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Arab participants in the recent Arab Family Day conference agreed to dedicate Dec. 7 as the Arab Family day, starting this year. The participants concluded that premarital advice is urgently needed for the success of Arab families.
Over 150 participants from around the Arab world discussed issues related to families. Children were the main focus, particularly the issue of how to create a better future for them and how to enable them to create a better future for themselves.
“It would be a good idea if we [Arabs] celebrate this day in public so that we may be able to spread enlightenment among those simple people who might not appreciate the importance of this day,” suggested Saleh Al-Ebraheem, Chairman of the Happy Home Al-Damam in Saudi Arabia.
Alongside the conference activities, Arab delegations were invited to tour Sana'a city and some historic places in the outskirts. They visited Bab Al-Yemen and Dar Al-Hajar [Rock Palace], and also attended an Inshad [chanting] event at the Yemeni Cultural Center and
“We heard many good things about Yemen and the Yemeni culture but in reality it is even better. I enjoyed the Inshad event quite a lot and it reminded me of my home town in 'Alse'ed',” said Mahmoud Soliman from Egypt .
Saudi participants expressed their surprise at the freedom Yemeni women had and the openness of the culture.
“We enjoyed the Inshad session and the people here are very kind. I intend to visit Yemen by car next time,” said Badr Mohammed Al-Shareef, a participant from Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“The generosity of the Yemeni people is what we appreciated the most. Inshad is a real treasure and I hope Yemeni people preserve it. We also visited Dar Al-Hajar and learned about Yemeni history during the Imamate rule,” said Ahmed Amin from Egypt.
The participants were impressed by the Yemeni food. “The welcome reception was above our expectations. I liked the delicious Yemeni food 'Fattah' and 'Aqdah' and other dishes,” said Hussein Ali Nasser from Khobar in Saudi Arabia.
Zoubida Sharaf Al-Deen from Algeria wasn't surprised at what she found in Yemen. “It was a great opportunity to visit Yemen and I'm not surprised at the Yemeni kindness, especially since we have Yemeni students and workers in Algeria – some are even married to Algerians. But really impressed me is the architecture of Yemeni buildings and the chanting which was very interesting. I noticed some of the verses are familiar as I heard them before in my own country.”
Arab Family Day conference was held in Sana'a between Dec. 23 and 25, 2008. It was attended by 150 participants who work in the field of family development.
The theme of the conference focused on marriage and its shared responsibilities and how to prepare couples for the road ahead.
Noor Ali Muhsin, a widowed mother of six, was awarded the title of the perfect mother 2008 by the prime minister for her struggle and determination to raise her children in the best way possible. She ensured that they receive good education, and although she was illiterate, she used to pretend to read with them and follow their homework so that they could take her seriously. She even took care of her two son-in-laws whose mother had passed away before she married their father.
Today the children she raised are a deputy minister, an engineer, a dentist, a lawyer, a laboratory technician, a university professor, a petrochemical specialist with a PhD degree, and an Arabic literature specialist who is pursuing higher studies in the field.
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