Times-Advocate, 1988-06-01, Page 6night alone either.
Foreigners are allowed to drink in
two of the hotels, and have their
own private liquor store.
Foreign women are not allowed to
associate with the Abu Dhabi men.
Their shoulders and knees must be
covered when they are outside the
hospital or the compound.
The native women are covered
from head to foot when out in pub-
lic. They also wear a type of mask
under the all-encompassing kendoras
so that not even their eyes can be
clearly seen. Even in the hospital,
staff knock before entering the room
of a woman patient to give her time
to cover her face with a veil. This
will be removed once the door is
again closed, if the staff mcmbcr is
also female.
Patients arc never alone. Some-
one - a mother or other relative -
moves into the room to help care
for the hospitalized person. The
helper sleeps on the carpet.
A woman's primary purpose is to
bear children. A girl is expected to
be married by age 12, and most
women give birth during their child-
bearing years to 15 or 20 babies.
"The men are not macho. This is
just part of their culture", Jacqui ex-
plains.
Jacqui's patients include those suf-
fering from cy stic fibrosis and
asthma. However, most requiring a
respiratory therapist are trauma cas-
es needing a life support system as
the result of a car accident.
Jacqui especially enjoys shop-
ping in the native bazaars. Excel-
lent quality 21 -carat gold jewellery
is plentiful. Exquisite rugs, and a
wide assortment of brass items arc
other attractions. No one pays the
first asking price. Haggling may
go on for half an hour over cups of
thick, sweet, black Turkish coffee
until vendor and customer reach a
mutually satisfactory arrangement.
The Gulf war seems as remote
from where Jacqui lives as it docs ir,
Canada. The war is followed there,
like here, through newspaper re-
ports.
Jacqui brought back an oriental
rug as a wedding gift for a girl
friend, a graceful brass Arabic coffee
server for her parents, and a .dainty
ruby and diamond ring which her
four-month old niece Shea will not
appreciate until she is a bit older.
Before returning to Abu Dhabi,
Jacqui l&as booked a trip to Germa-
ny. Another expedition is planned
-for September - down the Nile in
Egypt.
Jacqui is sure other adventures far
from Hensall arc in store for the fu-
ture. Her contract at the Abu Dhabi
hospital ends in February.
"That's winter in Canada", Jacqui
points out. She has an idea she's
going to come home via the long
route --stopping in places like Aus-
tralia on the way back.
"1 used to think the world was
huge. It's not nearly as big as I
first thought", Jacqui concludes.
And she intends to sec as much of it
as she possibly can.
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4
(Al
Page 6
Times -Advocate, June 1, 1988
Hensall girl working in hospital in Abu Dhabi
By Yvonne Reynolds
HENSALL - Jacqui Hyde is back
home in Hensall for a short holi-
day from her job as a respiratory
therapist in a hospital in the Unit-
ed Arab Emirate. Her spirit of ad-
venture dictated the exotic choice
of workplace. Her desire to serve
others was the deciding factor in
her choice of career.
• For as -far back- as she can_ re-
member, Jacqui was part of her
family's battle with older sister
Lisa's cystic fibrosis. She would
watch as parents Jim and Mary
Lou gave Lisa her thrice -daily front
and back chest -pummelling pulmo-
nary treatment, and then ask to be
"done" too.
"Dad would do it, but I think he
thumped me harder than necessary
to discourage me", Jacqui recalled
fondly.
Jacqui participated in her sister's
therapy from earliest childhood,
clappng baby hands on her sister's
chest, and later sitting nearby and
reading to Lisa during the sessions.
Jacqui :worked for over three
years in a London hospital after
graduating from the two-year res-
piratory therapist course at Fan-
shawc, but her feet were getting
itchy to travel further afield. She
tried without success for two years
to obtain a visa to work in Califor-
nia. Then a school friend told her
she had recommended Jacqui for a
job in the United Arab Emirate. A
hospital in the stale of Abu Dhabi
needed a respiratory therapist with
three years' experience. When she
received a long-distance phone call
from the UAE, she accepted and
started packing.
Getting there was not "half the
fun". Jacqui refers to the 48-hour
endurance test as the worst experi-
ence of her life. She sat in an air-
craft in Toronto from 8 p.m. until
2:00 a.m.; take -off was delayed be-
cause a sleet storm was causing ic-
ing. Consequently, she missed her
connecting flight from England and
had a further 12 -hour wait at
Heathrow.
Finally, a direct flight took her
to the city of Abu Dhabi, the capi-
tal of Abu Dhabi, the richest of the
Arab oil states. ---
The final leg of the trip was a
two-hour drive through the desert
to the hospital in the city of Al
Ain. As she looked out the win-
dow at sand dunes, Bedouin huts
and camels, camels everywhere,
Jacqui experienced a thrilling sense
of -excitement and adventure. She
knew she had "done the right
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The 250 -bed Tawam Hospital, the
site of the Stratford General, is
staffed. by a little United Nations.
Although under the state ministry
of health, it is run by foreigners.
Jacqui's co-workers were from plac-
es such as Britain, Finland, Sweden,
Lebanon. and Sri Lanka, all living
and working and getting along to-
gther.
P Jacqui was immediately made wel-
come. A week after she arrived, she
was treated to a birthday supper and
a special cake to celebrate her twen-
low site had worked with in Lon-
don. An Irish colleague comes
from the same place in Ireland as
Jacqui's mother's parents.
Jacqui is paid about the same
wage as she received in London, but
her housing and medical and dental
care are free. She could have gone
to Saudi Arabia and earned twice as
much money, but would have had
to cope with a much more restricted
lifestyle.
"The emirates are old-fashioned
but fairly free", Jacqui said.
She does face a few restrictions.
HOME FOR A VISIT - Jacqui Hyde. brought her parents an Arabic cof-
fee server when she flew -in from Abu Dhabi for a short visit.
y -fourth birthday.
"People are so caring. We are all
in the same situation", she said. -
Jacqui found to her surprise that
one of her co-workers had previous-
ly worked in Saudi Arabia with a
Fanshawe classmate, and another
had gone to high school w ith a fel-
The single females live in a securi-
ty -cleared compound on the hospital
grounds a 10 -minute drive from A!
Ain, and the single mcn live in
town. The foreign women must
keep a midnight curfew but, as Jac-
qui explained, she wouldn't walk the
streets of a large Canadian city at
Kirkton Women's Institute
KIRKTON - Kirkton Women's
Institute had their secret pal supper
on Thursday, May 26 at the Lai
King Chinese Restaurant in St.
Marys. Thirty-two ladies enjoyed
the buffet meal. Evelyn Wiles, the
new president, welcomed the mem-
bers to this meeting.
After the opening exercises Joyce
Strahan, program co-ordinator, gave
an interesting account on her trip to
Kingston. She met others and heard
special speakers including FWIO
president Margaret Munro. Recycle;
everyone should we asking questions
about this and Institute members can
do a lot for this project - any ques-
tions ask Joyce.
Butsy Parkinson gave the morning
report of the district annual for 1+erth
South on May 17 and Eleanor Wil-
liams gave the p.m. report. Again
recycle was introduced and there are
videos available. Come September
the 4H project will be Much to do
about Meat.
If anyone has ideas on further proj-
ects for 4H please call any member of
Kirkton or any other branch with
their ideas. June 8 is the tea and craft
sale at Spruce Lodge in Stratford
from 2-4 p.m. It is hoped that people
attend to support the cause.
The next meeting will be held on
June 16 (note change of date) at 7
p.m. This must bea surpriseas we are
to wear casual shoes. Any new
members will be welcome to just
come to our meetings.
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