Our Oman: 'His Majesty said: I will teach my children, even under the shade of trees'

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Muscat: Haider Dawood witnessed the moment His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said’s plane landed in Oman on July 23, 1970.
“On July 23, 1970 I was a student at Al Saidiya School, and I didn’t know what was happening, I was 11 or 12 years old. We received the news from people who were listening to British and Kuwaiti Radio,” Haider said.
Speaking to the Times of Oman regarding how the people of Oman prepared for the arrival of His Majesty, Haider said, “ It was the summer time, and students gathered at schools and were told to put up decorations, I remember participating in the activity.
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“On the day of His Majesty’s arrival, there were some social clubs, such as Al Ahli, Al Nasir, and Al Qaadissiah, that were asked to organise people to walk from Muttrah police station to Al Falaj Airport,” Haider added.
“When we reached the airport many people were present, there were traditional bands, as well as people who came with their own drums. We all waited there until the aeroplane carrying His Majesty the Sultan landed.
“All the people welcomed him. I remember we were kids and we wore scarves from different sports clubs. I was wearing a blue scarf from Al Nasr sports club.”
“I remember Muttrah from that day, as there was one paved roadway to reach Bait Al Falaj, as the rest were unpaved because there were few cars around. I also remember that people had just began caring about education, after HM said, ‘I will teach my children, even under the shade of trees,’ So, many people started to enrol their daughters and sons into school that year [1970],” he said.
“The education system started to expand, and at the same time the Omani government began taking care of the transport system, since many Omanis had to reach each other. This was a type of policy that connected the Omanis in the north to the west,” Haider said.
“The infrastructure spread to roads, school, hospitals and social services. We thank God for all the development that happened in Oman with the available financial resources.”
“We are proud that Oman is now considered one of the best countries in the Middle East and the GCC, and this is due to the development policies that the Sultanate is following.”
“We hope that every Omani will be able to benefit from this development,” he added.