Recently the AISA Parents Group at the American International School, Abu Dhabi, ran a writing competition. Winners were named from each grade from grade 3 – 12. And there was an overall winner. This year that was Hamdan Zoghbor, a grade 7 student from the UAE. The topic was, “If I was president of my country for a day.” February is the month of love and I thought this essay was full of love. Enjoy.
Dear world,
Hello dear citizens, my name is Hamdan and I will be the president of the UAE for only a single day so we better hurry up and not waste the valuable time we have so set the timer to twenty four hours, and let’s get started! If I was a president for a single day in the UAE, what would I change? I am determined that it is enough to accomplish all the people’s dreams, make my country a heaven on earth, and make it a place to call home.
As President of the UAE, the first thing I would instantly do is make a 2 minutes speech about my objectives and my responsibility as a president.
Twenty three hours and fifty eight minutes left for the day to finish. I would be thrilled to start with the elderly people in the UAE. I will build them a hotel only for them like above fifty years old or so. Even if they are poor and can’t afford it, I will pay their total bill. Their beds will be as soft as a cloud and as huge as an elephant. They will also have their medicines, and they’ll get almost anything they need.
Nineteen hours and 30 minutes. Let’s start with the young adults who work every day except Friday and Saturday.
Every day I see grumbled adults talking angrily about their problems in their jobs, and sometimes I agree with them. For example, I accidentally eavesdropped upon somebody who said on his phone in a lion-like voice that it’s not fair he should continue to work all night when other people can take a break. So, the day I am president, they will have a holiday, and they could come to me if they have a serious trouble about their job.
Fourteen hours and fifty minutes left for the day to finish. And now, for the children and teenagers who goes to school will have their own surprise.
I like to start with the poor people who go to poor schools, I will let them choose a School and then let them start studying there but the grades depend on their knowledge. If they have less knowledge, they will go to their appropriate grade and start studying there, but if they are smart I will pay for the school for a whole month because those people just deserve it. Also the day I am president, I will make another two-minute speech about the student should respect their hard working teachers, because they are the light bulb that light your way to the perfect destination.
Nine hours and nineteen minutes remaining.
Now, it’s time to think a little outside the box. It will help the others and also make the fame of the UAE spread quicker than a screaming fire.
I have two other ideas about helping the world as President of the UAE, and I’ll say them one after another.
My first brilliant idea is help people who die from starvation or famine. I am doing this because of the strong sentence I heard: “anyone who dies from starvation is not natural, someone is behind it.” People shouldn’t just die like that, so I will send soldiers to the poor safe part of that country and then give them food and money. This mission will get started in the day I am president.
My second brilliant idea is about creatures, some cuter and some uglier than humans. These are the animals. Did you know fifty-six billion animals die in a year and more than three thousand animals die every second in slaughterhouses around the world? Can you imagine that? So, I will create an island in the UAE for all of the animals where you could see them but not kill them. If there was no island, I will just choose an uninhabited place for them that could help repopulate the world.
Looks like I only have a single hour and twenty hours left before the end of the day, so I will just spend the rest of my day relaxing, swimming and playing.
Ten seconds left! Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, a new day had rose and now, I am just a happy and famous fellow in this huge, wide, magnificent world.
From the world’s last hope,
Hamdan Zoghbor
