iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Among the failures identified were poor communication with local law enforcement, an over-reliance on mobile devices, and line of sight issues
KT APPDOWNLOAD
A home where one can realise one’s dreams
DUBAI — His UAE journey started in February 1981 when late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum insisted upon him to come to Dubai.
Right then Dr Adnan Kaddaha, hailing from Hermel in Lebanon, was a medical counselor for UAE mission in Karachi and had been working in that capacity since 1975.
Dr Kaddaha, internal diseases specialist, had only been married for three months when he arrived in Dubai on late Shaikh Rashid’s private jet.
“Most of my patients at that time were dignitaries that I had the opportunity to meet while I was working in Karachi. I contributed to evolution of the concept of evidence-based medicine. At that time there was a very limited number of doctors,” says Dr Kaddaha.
He recounts: “At that time Dubai used to be a laidback and peaceful city; it used to be homely. Back then, it was nice to go on a ride. Shaikh Zayed Road was not yet dotted with high-rise buildings. It was a single-carriage road connecting Dubai to Abu Dhabi.”
The former Head of the Lebanese Labour Council and currently its member explained: “In the late 80s there were the Rostomani building and the one that carries the Toyota sign. There were also the Trade Centre and its apartments. The Trade Centre apartments used to be managed by what was back then Hilton Hotel. Now it is replaced by a new Trade Centre Hotel that is still under construction as a large tower complex. Jebel Ali was hardly heard of back then. It was considered to be far away”.
He went on saying: “Accommodation was pretty reasonable and evidently much more affordable, though in early and mid 80s it was a bit difficult to find an accommodation. There were not so many development projects except Al Maktoum Road buildings which were just being given final touches.”
Dr Kaddaha recounts: “My first clinic was near the Clock Tower on Al Maktoum Road. In those days, patients used to feel it hard to reach there because it was located at the end of the city. I moved to another clinic near Burjuman in 2003.”
In 2000, he opened Jebel Ali Medical Centre and in 2004 he became proprietor of the centre to be transformed into a hospital and called ‘Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital’.
University Hospital
Dr Kaddaha is actually engaged in establishing a university hospital adjacent to the Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital. The project is set to be completed within 18 months.
“I am working on a project to establish a full-fledged university hospital, a school of medical technology, a faculty of medicine, a nursing school, a school for paramedics, a school of hospital management along with a medical industrial equipment complex. The construction will start within six months and the project, spreading over 100,000 square metre in Techno Park, is set to be completed by 2010. It will also house residential quarters for the people working in these facilities.” The Lebanese Doctor intends to hire German specialists and physicians to train the hospital’s doctors.
Writer and poet
Among Dr Kaddaha’s children, all studying in Canada, Firas holds a Masters degree in Genetic Engineering and is currently studying Medicine at Harvard, Zeina holds a Bachelor degree in Bacteriology and Immunology and is studying medicine in Laval University, Mohammad holds a degree in Finance and Hicham is studying at College Marie de France, Montreal.
But that is only one side of the personality of Dr Kaddaha, for he also writes poetry and has many unpublished manuscripts. He is currently working on a book on a controversial topic — Social Transformations — which would encompass philosophy , sociology and history.
For Dr Kaddaha, UAE is a country like no other in the world as it opens horizons to anyone who has a realistic dream. “I would not be exaggerating if I say that I truly belong, heart and mind, to this country because it provided me a home where I could make my dreams come true.”
More news from World
Nine women serve as ministers, making up almost one third of the UAE cabinet, Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Vice President of the UAE Gender Balance Council said
White House national security spokesman John Kirby reiterated that the Biden administration is seeking to avoid an escalation in the region
A spokesperson for Brussels Airlines said it would need to cancel 80% of its 203 flights scheduled for the day
BFM TV reported that Barnier has proposed conservative Senator Bruno Retailleau as interior minister
The death toll from the storm which struck central and eastern Europe last week rose to 24 and some areas are still under threat from rising waters
Muslim backing of Democrats has fallen sharply since Israel's nearly year-long action in Gaza
