A daughter’s tribute to an exceptional father
LATIFA’S BOOK CASTS LIGHT ON HAMDAN’S PERSONAL LIFE
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Thursday evening witnessed a daughter of the late Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum share an emotional story of writing a book on her father, making the audience tear up and also laugh at times.
Shaikh Hamdan was the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance and Industry when he passed away in March 2021. Shaikha Latifa Bint Hamdan Al Maktoum’s book Through My Eyes: The Life of Sheikh Hamdan as Told by His Daughter unveils his life from a unique perspective with personal accounts and unseen photographs of the royal family.
In a freewheeling conversation with Julia Wheeler, Shaikha Latifa, founder of Latifa Bint Hamdan Club for Skills and Chairwoman of Zabeel Ladies Club, said: “The only reason I wrote it was my life with him has ended, but my love for him is infinite.” She wore a brooch bearing the image of her late father pinned to her robe in his favourite blue colour.
Inspired by mother
She said her mother, Shaikha Roudha Bint Ahmad bin Juma Al Maktoum, gave her the courage to write the book when she felt she could not talk much about her father during a couple of interviews after his passing. She also helped finalise the adorable cover photo of Sheikh Hamdan sharing a special moment with a young Shaikha Latifa.
Shaikh Hamdan was not just the formidable man he was in public, Shaikha Latifa said, but he was a joyous, kind, warm and thoughtful man. While a ‘business mind’ is the leadership quality that she thinks she has inherited from Shaikh Hamdan, his modesty and the way he worked silently are the values that Shaikha Latifa said she would hold on to while she carries on his legacy along with her five siblings.
The Silent Hail
Shaikha Latifa thanked whoever nicknamed Shaikh Hamdan as the ‘Silent Hail’. “Whoever gave him this name, thank you so much because honestly that’s the perfect nickname for him. You know, he’s a caring
If he’s travelling, he has to call me every day. He has to talk to us every day. If he comes back from a country, he would fill the trunk with toys. And not just for us, our foster siblings too.”
Shaikha Latifa Bint Hamdan Al Maktoum
person. He’s a nurturing person, and he helped people with calmness, with tranquillity. He never spoke about anything he did. Even my mother said, excellent [name],” she said.
Special bond
Shaikha Latifa opened up about the special bond with her father. He used to call her nicknames such as Ummi and Fifa. At home, he loved using the endearing salutations like “my dear, my love,” she said.
Shaikh Hamdan used to care about the health and well-being of everyone around him.
“If he’s travelling, he has to call me every day. He has to talk to us every day. If he comes back from a country, he would fill the trunk with toys. And not just for us, our foster siblings too. If I had the slightest cold, he would constantly call me. During Covid-19, he was just giving away vitamins to everyone,” Shaikha Latifa said.
Unfinished ending
Though the process of writing down her father’s story had a therapeutic effect on her, Shaikha Latifa, who studied psychology, revealed that she held back a chapter as it was emotionally overwhelming.
“It was the farewell chapter,” she said, explaining that she was in tears when she typed around 17 pages. “I didn’t want to put it out there. I wanted this to be a happy book.”
She also became emotional when she spoke about her father’s relationship with his brother His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who described Shaikh Hamdan as his pillar of support.