Indian media group honours martyred firefighter

Jasem Eisa Al Beloushi died while performing his duty during incident involving flight EK521 at Dubai International Airport on August 3

Eisa Al Beloushi receives the memento presented by the Kerala government from Shaikh Salem (centre), V.K. Hamzah Abbas (left) and V.S. Sunil Kumar (right).

Ras Al Khaimah: Hundreds of Indians and Emiratis took part in an event held on Thursday to honour Jasem Eisa Al Beloushi, the Emirati firefighter who lost his life while responding to a fire during an incident involving flight EK521 at Dubai International Airport on August 3.

The event seeking to honour Al Beloushi posthumously in the presence of his family was organised by an Indian media group that runs the Malayalam newspaper Gulf Madhyamam and TV channel Media One.

V.S. Sunil Kumar, Kerala’s Minister for Agriculture, presented a memento from the government of the Indian state to Eisa Al Beloushi, the father of the martyred firefighter who has become a symbol of sacrifice and dedication.

Shaikh Salem Bin Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation in Ras Al Khaimah, was the chief guest.

Kumar also read out a message from Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, who praised the courage and dedication of Al Beloushi.

Al Qasimi and other guests together handed over another memento from the media group to Al Beloushi’s father.

“The entire Indian expatriate community in the UAE, as well as their family members and relatives in Kerala, are grateful to Jasem and have been paying their homage and offering their gratitude to his family since the day of incident,” said V.K. Hamzah Abbas, chief editor, Gulf Madhyamam, who presided over the function held at the Ras Al Khaimah Cultural Centre.

“It is in this context that we, Gulf Madhyamam and Media One Gulf, in collaboration with Madhyamam Vichara Vedhi Ras Al Khaimah, came up with this concept of hosting a grand memorial ceremony to pay our tribute publicly to Jasem and thank his family for his bravery,” he said.

The event saw Al Beloushi’s family members becoming emotional, especially when a documentary on him was screened.

Renowned UAE poet Dr Shihab Ganem’s poem on Al Beloushi was recited on stage by Malayalee student Meenakshi Jayakumar, winner of Arabic reality show Munshid Sharjah.

Blood donation drive

On Friday, a blood donation drive was organised at the Saqr Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah in remembrance of Al Beloushi. Over 100 people came forward to donate blood at the event organised by a group called Blood Donors Kerala-UAE. Siblings and relatives of Al Beloushi also attended the event.