A UAE Historian Describes Life Before 1971, Saying "It Rained On The Day The Emirates Became One."

The Emirate was engulfed in an unexpected splendor on this wet day with a cloudy sky. That was December 2, 1971. That Thursday morning, thoughts of what lay ahead for them remained in a UAE the minds of the residents.

That time frame and the day are clearly in my memory. After their financial resources ran out and their political capital was depleted by their imperial overreach, the British left. They were talking about current problems and making predictions about the future. There was a general feeling of unease as conversations with friends and family centered on potential outcomes “In an interview with The Times, 64-year-old historian Saif Mohammed Al Bedwawi of the United Arab Emirates took the audience on a tour of an immersive time capsule.

However, in spite of the stress, it proved to be an amazing day that gave everyone optimism…. I recall that on the day we unified as a single federation, it rained,” he continued.

The man who had lived in the Emirate before to its union pointed out that the nation was essentially just a vast desert with never-ending dunes, stretching as far as the eye could see.