There seems to be a tremendous struggle happening in the Middle East – a fight between the good guys, like this 10-year-old Emirati wunderkid, and psychotic fundamentalists (along with a host of other corrupt elements.) The good maybe overwhelmed by the very worst bad guys there could be. And then there is the boy who already has seven scientific patents to his name.
Before I go any further, I want to point out that I came across this story over at The National, an Emirati publication. Major shoutout to Ben Flanagan, who should be in the running for a Pulitzer with this story! He really captures the essence of a boy who is just a boy, and yet he has accomplished the feats of a grown man.
It felt like Flanagan was looking for evidence that young Adeeb Al Blooshi had missed out on his childhood, but came away with the most subtle yet complex unveiling of a young person with the wisdom and knowledge of a sage – for example, the “inventor,” as Flanagan calls him, recognizes somehow that he has to separate his accomplishments from his friendships with peers his own age.
“I don’t really like to combine the inventions with my personal life. [My school friends do] ask me, and when they do I answer them,” he told The National. “But then again, we’re all busy playing football.”
Al Blooshi is an inventor, and the recipient of 100 awards and certifications. Did I mention that he is just 10 years old? Or that he is currently on a tour of seven countries under the patronage and watchful eye of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed – the Crown Prince of Dubai?
“The young scientist is on a world tour to help him build on his previous inventions, which include a prosthetic limb for his father and a housework robot for his mother,” writes Flanagan.
“Because of his work he was named by CNN as among the world’s most impressive young medical pioneers.”
For more about his work and tour, and the chance to read one of the most enjoyable pieces of journalism I’ve encountered in a long while, please head over to The National.
Lead image via Naija
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
I have lived in the Middle East for 13 years, I have never met a psychotic fundamentalist. The people are safer, kinder, more generous and move sensible than most of the people I met in the west (i am from UK. The west paints it like that because they don’t want an oil rich region with any power so they can steal all the oil and destabilize it accordingly, the huge armies and agendas of the weapons sellers of the west are terrorists. the only difference it is it declared by the crazy capitalist imperialists to be “legal”. this is a very brainwashed article. I find it offensive to Middle Eastern people. In the whole history of the Middle East there have never been anyone as psycho as Bush for example, or Cheney who made 9 billion dollars personally from the war in Iraq.