“If time wears you down, lean on the land.”
This Socotri proverb was never just a saying. For Mona Abubakr, it was a way of life. Whenever life became difficult, she drew strength from the land and found patience in its embrace.
We came to know her as “the Iron Woman”, not for any harshness, but because her resilience was as enduring as the earth itself.
For many years, Mona worked the fields, greeting the dawn with her hands in the soil and bidding farewell to the sun as she counted the earth’s blessings. From its bounty, she raised her children. They grew up and went their own ways, but she remained rooted to the land, just as she had always been.
Her dreams were never extravagant. She wished only for health and well-being, for goodness to spread, to reach her neighbors, and to touch everyone who shared her struggles and her patience.
When she sat with Ghaith, she didn’t share her story just to be heard, but to be understood. The Emirati coffee offered was a simple gift, yet within its warmth lay the spirit of true Emirati identity. Without words, it spoke:
Hardship is universal, and so is humanity, no matter how far apart our lands may be.
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“I may not know you, but Allah knows you”