UAE safest place in the world, says British expat
I came to Abu Dhabi really quite by chance, leaving behind England’s green and quiet fields for the red sands and glaring white tracks in the desert, remarks David Heard
When David Heard landed in Abu Dhabi in the former Trucial States in 1963, he never imagined that he would be witnessing the formation of a new country and staying here almost 58 years thereater to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
“I came to Abu Dhabi really quite by chance, leaving behind England’s green and quiet fields for the red sands and glaring white tracks in the desert,” Heard, 82, tells Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview at his home in Abu Dhabi.
SCARY INTRODUCTION TO ABU DHABI: Although his “introduction to Abu Dhabi” was a series of scary incidents, that did not deter the British petroleum engineer on the first onshore oil fields in the emirate from continuing the life here and involving in finding some of the largest oilfields in the Middle East while working until June 2004 with his first and same employer over 40 years, Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC). Ater retirement, he became an authentic chronicler of oil in the region with his well-researched books.
Heard still remembers a small Dakota aircrat with four passengers, including him, making an emergency landing at an airstrip somewhere in the desert in Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra (western region of Abu Dhabi), one early morning in August 1963 because the plane’s engine had some trouble.
“The pilot told us to get out of the plane quicky and he took off again and said, ‘Maybe I’ll come back, maybe not.’ And he didn’t come back, and we were standing there in the middle of the desert. That was my introduction to Abu Dhabi.”
It was geting warmer. The prospective employer had a small camp in Jebel Dhanna because they were building a pipeline there. “Someone came in from this camp, came to us and took us into the camp. And then by about midday, they put us in a Land Rover for a two-hour long drive through desert to a bachelor’s camp in Tarif, which was a base for drilling in the desert.
“Ater graduating in geology and physics, I was looking for an interesting job outside the UK or some adventure somewhere. And I happened to see a tiny advertisement in the Times newspaper that a company was looking for science graduates.”
CHOOSING ABU DHABI’S DESERT AGAINST KIRKUK’S GATED COMMUNITY: The petroleum company, a British consortium, accepted his application and offered him a job in Kirkuk in Iraq, where it had been producing oil for some years. The company had a nice gated accommodation for families, with all facilities such as a hospital and a club.
When he asked about other options, the company mentioned Abu Dhabi, saying it was a “rough place for tough people.”
“I said it’s the place for me. So, ater a week or two I got on a 100-seater jet, De Havilland Comet 4, and flew to Bahrain nonstop, which was quite rare in those days; normally there used to be a to stop on the way. Of course, such a big aircrat would not land in Abu Dhabi those days.”
And then a couple of days later, he got on a small Dakota aircrat with three other people to Abu Dhabi from Bahrain, where the oil company had its local headquarters.
As the engineer in the field overseeing the production of the first oil from the giant Asab and Sahil fields, he lived in the desert camps.
He moved to a house provided by the company in the city in 1966 and his German wife, Frauke Heard-bey, joined him in Abu Dhabi in 1967.
UAE’S FORMATION: The couple already heard about the discussion on formation of the UAE from their Emirati friends. When the UAE Constitution’s English translation was made, “we were asked to look into the drat,” recollects Heard.
On several occasions, they had the opportunity to interact with the Late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, and many senior officials.
Queen Elizabeth honoured him and recognised him as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1990, and a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE) in 2000, for his contribution to the oil industry and the British community in Abu Dhabi.
“Why we lived here nearly 60 years, is simple. We have been very happy and satisfied. The friendships made so many years ago are still well maintained. We are treated very kindly by so many people. We are really at home here,” Heard says.
The current global pandemic has also reinforced their decision. “Since the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, we have found that this is obviously the safest place in the world,” says Heard.