During the last semester, I had a book design course where my final project was to design a magazine of my own. Find a topic, create imagery for it, gather up my classmates topics and start designing.
Twitter stirred up my inspiration in finding a topic. So many inspirational figures you may contact and start sharing their story..
Having said that, I contacted the Emirati activist Jalal Binthaneya and there I had my topic.
After getting to know about his journey that I labeled "20 Days Walk", I went to take pictures that could relate to the content.
Here's a screenshot of the spread I designed in the magazine sharing his story:
Here's what the spread said:
Jalal BinThaneya, an Emirati activist for the mentally and physically challenged, and a campaigner for the disabled.
Jalal is a student at the Middlesex University of Dubai, dedicates his free time to raise awareness for people in the UAE with special needs by planning and executing extreme challenges. One of his initiatives was his journey to the Empty Quarter. I asked him a couple of questions to know more about his 20 days journey.
How did the idea of walking to the EQ occur to you?
Walking journeys started for me in 2007. I walked the UAE on foot, the seven Emirates, when I was 20 years old with minimum support and coverage. I walked for the cause of autism and raised around 100,000 Dirham for them through sponsors who stepped in for my cause. There are many things that led me to wanting to become a campaigner for special needs. One of these ideas are that special needs community hold the secrets to life. There strength, their patience and their happiness when we show them love. I thought how happy these children would be to see a simple man like myself walk for special children.
In 2008 I embarked on an urban journey, which was a sort of experiment. This was for the special needs center in Al Barsha Named Rashid center. I climbed 100 towers in 12 days to raise awareness for this center; a lot of stairs in my opinion.
In 2009 I planned to climb Burj Khalifa however the company delayed and promised a later date. I did not want 2009 to end with no mission and so I embarked on a journey to the real world, the Empty Quarter. When I entered the Empty Quarter I realized that in the city life people were usually caught up with fable and false lifestyles that benefited no one. It was a loser’s game that the mass wished to play. During the journey I felt a lot of hardship from lack of supplies to burning hot days and freezing nights in the
pitch dark.
What motivated you?
The motivation behind all these journeys is not an answer I can give in full, as I have not completed all of my journeys. I will be walking to Mecca at the end of the year so perhaps I will be able to find the meaning in all of my journeys if it is to be my last.
Were there other parties involved in preparing the journey?
All my journeys are self-funded they are not government initiatives. This means I have to derive funds privately or from my own pocket. It is a challenge before the challenge actually begins and what is worse is the mentality and intimidation by individuals. I do not believe I am super human as our ancestors used to travel on foot so I do not understand peoples envy and think since they can do more, they should focus on that.
Have you reached the objective you wanted to achieve through this experience?
Objective wise, there is still one project (Mecca) pending. The last project that was scheduled to happen after Empty Quarter was the climb Up Burj Khalifa via Stairway. However, management in favor of non-Arab and international figures denied it since non-Arabs run the tower. I have campaigned for this mission for a very long period of time. However, The greatest challenge is when parts of a supportive community are reluctant to help. They force you to struggle when their help would add value.
Finally, what challenges did you face during your 20 days walk?
There’s always a struggle. I believe that all my struggles are worth the effort for special needs. Arabs must take responsibility for their people when it comes to raising awareness for special needs and eliminating jealousy while providing joint collaboration. When people look at strength, they look for super heroes and manmade gimmicks. I plead with all people that their search doesn’t need to be daunting. Look to your ancestors and special needs community. Their struggle was far more difficult and continues to be a challenge.
