{"id":306068,"date":"2018-04-16T01:10:02","date_gmt":"2018-04-15T23:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/dubai-at-the-top\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T20:36:55","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T18:36:55","slug":"dubai-at-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/dubai-at-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai: at the top"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Burj Khalifa is currently the world\u2019s tallest building, its 160 floors rising to a dizzying 830 metres.<\/strong> At ground level an immense choreographed fountain is illuminated by laser beams bouncing through water jets to a constantly changing musical accompaniment. Although its \u201cworld-highest\u201d title is under threat from the Kingdom Tower of Gedda (200 floors) and other skyscrapers rising up in various countries, the city of Dubai is synonymous with its \u00a0\u2018At The Top\u2019 observation deck<\/strong>, offering breath-taking birds-eye views of stunning ultramodern constructions. In recent years, the so-called \u2018city of dreams\u2019 has seen one of the highest immigration rates in the world, attracting people from many different countries looking for work. This has produced a distinctively cosmopolitan environment, one not without difficulties, particularly for its foreign workers. In this high-rise \u2018concrete jungle\u2019 dwells a small community of the Focolare Movemen<\/strong>t. Many left their own countries for Dubai \u00a0\u2013 like countless others – hoping to find better financial opportunities for their families.\u00a0 For three weeks in February this community enthusiastically welcomed Rom\u00e8 from the Philippines<\/a>, Fadia and Susanne from Jordan<\/a> and Murad from Syria<\/a>, later joined by Alessandro from Italy<\/a> for part of the time. Together they formed a \u2018temporary focolare\u2019 in this unique location. \"\"<\/a>The visitors recall: \u201cWe were welcomed at the airport by a group of radiant faces. Each one of us was presented with a beautiful flower! Instantly we were made to feel at home. Our first morning in Dubai dawned with an email greeting from Focolare President, Maria Voce: \u2018May Jesus be always present among you, and may He be the most beautiful gift for those you will meet!\u2019 These words guided our steps as we entered into the heart of this community. On tip-toe we contacted one person after another, setting up appointments in their homes, in churches, restaurants, shopping centres and even in metro stations. \u00a0Wherever we met, people brought items \u2013 providence<\/em> – to share with others. Every moment of the day, and well into the night hours as well, provided opportunities to build a \u2018shelter\u2019 for Jesus, for Jesus among us. And what joy every time!\u201d The visitors joined an international and culturally diverse group of Focolare animators to prepare a 2-day Mariapolis<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cOur presence in Dubai was in order to serve. But each one of the 70 participants at the Mariapolis, from eleven different nationalities, gave their own active contribution. Chiara Lubich<\/a>\u2019s last wish \u2018always be a family\u2019 was evident there.\u201d The visitors continue: \u201cTalking with several Dubai residents, we became aware of how many worries they may have – discrimination, the fear of losing a job, the high cost of living combined with disproportionately low salaries, no permanent residence, and often no clear future. However, beneath all this, lies a \u2018treasure\u2019 hidden in each one\u2019s heart: God, whom they have chosen as their ideal in life.\u201d In conclusion, \u201cWe saw how it\u2019s the life of unity lived as part of a community which helps each one withstand the daily challenges.\u201d This \u2013 and not height in metres – is what characterizes their distinctive race to The Top<\/em>. Chiara Favotti<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Overlooking the Persian Gulf, Dubai is the capital of one of seven emirates which form the United Arab Emirates. In February of this year, the Focolare community in this city hosted a \u201ctemporary Focolare\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-306068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focolare-worldwide-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}