The UAE is marking 47th National Day and a little 'colony' in Abu Dhabi is adding fervour to the celebrations. Some 12 shops, mostly run by Indian expats in the rustic Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre, are all decked up in national colours of red, green, white and black.
On sales are national flags, T-shirts, key chains, caps, toy guns, scarfs, mugs, blanket, pins and many items. Some 200 shop owners and staff at the shopping centre will wear 'Thank You UAE' T-shirts and cut a giant cake to mark the National Day (N-Day).
Abdul Rahiman, who is a senior hand among the shopkeepers, said: "We call this place a 'colony' and have majority of shopkeepers from Kerala, especially Kasaragod district. I am here for 30 years.
"We were all amazed by the instant reaction and support offered by the UAE leaders to the flood-hit Kerala. So we designed T-shirts with 'Thank You UAE' message. We will have a big celebration today."
He said the 'colony of shops' is always busy but comes to life during the N-Day, adding that the shops get a wide range of customers from different nationalities.
"We get to see excess footfalls from locals and Arabs. Then we have Indians, Pakistanis, Filipino and Europeans among our customers. These celebrations have almost offset the slow sales seen in recent months," Rahiman added.
Abdul Basheer, who is running a shop for 15 years, said: "Year-on-year the spirit and scale of celebration is on the rise. We mark other festivals but nothing matches the market scene of N-Day. We supply flags and scarfs to many private and public companies, offices and schools." Ali Moosa said there are 12 shops with some 40 people managing the affairs and in the festive season all are working in single shift. "We eagerly look forward to celebrating the National Day in the evening," he added.
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