Abu Dhabi: Coming from a culture that stresses independence, the feeling of togetherness Sarah Coetzee and her family experienced at their first iftar was incomparable.
“My children, husband and I were made to feel like part of the family when my Emirati colleague invited us over for iftar. I also could not help but admire the degree of importance they placed on the blessings and meaning of the month,” the 42-year-old expatriate from South Africa, who works at a school in the capital, told Gulf News.
Coetzee hails from a suburb in Cape Town, and she said that Muslims inhabitants usually observe Ramadan as a private affair there.
“For them, it is a blessed time and we can see that they treasure it. But for the rest of us [non-Muslims], life does not feel markedly different. Here in the UAE, however, it is fascinating to see the various traditions, and I love how we are all invited to be part of the experience. Even if one is not fasting, Ramadan touches you,” she said.
This is only Coetzee’s second Ramadan in the UAE, having arrived in 2014. So she has not yet dined at any of the Ramadan tents with her family.
But recounting the iftar with her colleague’s family, Coetzee said she found a number of Emirati staples to be particularly delicious.
“We enjoyed the pita bread and the hammous, as well as the way the beef was cooked,” she said.
For the South African family, it was the genuineness of Emirati hospitality, and the warmth and closeness they experienced during iftar, that was especially memorable.
“If any of my family visits from South Africa, I would definitely encourage them to come at a time when they can be part of the UAE Ramadan. It is a special and wholly different period,” Coetzee said.
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Sarah Coetzee
Age: 40 years
From: South Africa
School staff member
