Ali Abdullah al Jahwari -
Muscat, Jan 21 -
Yusuf al Farsi was born in 1967 and in 1970 His Majesty Qaboos bin Said became the Sultan of Oman. He said that he was 3 years old but still witnessed the era before 1975 when Oman was in ‘absolute darkness’.
According to Yusuf, many people back then were travellers wandering through Oman to make a living. Thanking His Majesty Sultan Qaboos, Yusuf said, “His Majesty changed absolutely everything from education, healthcare, social services, security to transport. His Majesty started development process from the scratch until it became in its current form.”
He said that Oman before His Majesty’s reign was unknown and isolated from the world because of its inner conflicts.
“Throughout my life I noticed that all the changes occurred in the Sultanate,” Yusuf said.
He said His Majesty Sultan Qaboos took Oman from zero to make it stand in par with the greatest countries around the world.
Yusuf’s vision of Oman under His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tareq is all about continuing the march of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos and how prosperous Oman will be if everyone worked by his words.
Meanwhile, Rajaa al Balushi used to live in Kuwait before the 70s but still she lived early years of the decade here in Oman in Muttrah. She said that there was only one school for girls in the Muttrah Seafront named Asma bint Abi Bakr that could be only reached through one road — the Riam mountain road and there was only one hospital named Al Rahma which Omanis used to call it Dr Thomas’ hospital. She said that there were a lot of houses which were not built with concrete but were Areesh houses at that time. Also, her house in Kuwait had electricity at that time, but when she moved to Oman, she lived for around 2 years without any electricity.
“People used lanterns and fire lamps in their houses. A small number of people had cars in those days and they were not used much because there were not many roads,” explained Rajaa. She also mentioned that they were one of the first families to own a TV and people came to their house to watch it.
She added that her father had said that they moved from Kuwait to Oman following His Majesty Sultan Qaboos calling his people outside Oman to come home.
Rajaa said that there is no comparison between Oman now and then, as we look at present day’s schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, roads and buildings. Oman has become a modern country and if compared with another developing country, you would notice how Oman is so much better in all aspects.
She also talked about how great a leader he was. “He was a person who will not come again. He had a special charisma in the way he walked and talked.” She added that Oman was lucky to have him and all the people had hoped to celebrate 50 years with him. “He was an exceptional man who spent his whole life for his country and people that not only Omanis are heartbroken because of his death, but the whole world too. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos did not just build a country but people with concepts and wisdom.
“He had proven everyone wrong about questioning his decisions in the early 70s by showing these emerging results of Oman being a peaceful country with political neutrality that is well developed,” she noted.
She talked about her vision under His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tareq stating that all Omanis wish him the best of luck and are going to help him in every step on the way to pass all the challenges that are currently facing the Sultanate by following his wise judgments and firm decisions. “Everything His Majesty Sultan Qaboos did will be standing still for all the upcoming generations after him,” she concluded.
The writer, an intern with Observer,
is a student of English language
and literature at SQU.
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