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29 March 2024

Emaar holds mass iftar for residents in The Greens

Published
By Majorie van Leijen

Residents of The Greens were pleasantly surprised when they found an invitation for a community iftar on their doormat this week.

"You are cordially invited for a grand iftar," it read, signed off by Emaar Community Management.

More than 1,500 people gathered on of the green patches of the area, named Central Park along Street 3.

It was a true community fair with a jumping castle, stalls selling snacks, sweets and other things, and activities for kids such as face painting, magic shows and quizzes and competitions.

For the iftar, each table had a giant platter of rice and lamb. Additional food items such as shawarma could be purchased if desired.

"Over 1,200 residents and 200 community staff/workers attended the event, and over 1,400 people broke their fast together and enjoyed a free iftar meal," said an Emaar Community Management spokesperson.

Bashir, the French Algerian who has lived in the Greens with his wife for four years, was one of the residents enjoying the iftar meal. "We have been fasting and we felt a bit lazy to cook so we were very happy to attend this iftar," he said.

But non-fasting residents also were happy to share the iftar meal with their neighbours. "I just returned from work and decided to share the iftar meal here with my colleague," Rajee Singh from India said.

“This event is a one- of-its-kind ever organised in a community in Dubai, organised to foster community spirit and togetherness to celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan," said the Emaar Community Management spokesperson.

The community management firm has played a role in organising community events such as a Ramadan fair last year. This year it decided to go one step further and treat residents with a meal, one of its staff explained.

"I have never seen anything like this here. We do these things in Europe, so it reminds us a little bit of home," added Bashir.

The event attracted the attention of surrounding residents too, and everybody was welcomed. The Slovakian Daniel Vyskoc and his wife were on the way to a restaurant for the iftar meal when they passed the grand iftar in The Greens and decided to join.

"We asked what this was all about and thought it was actually quite cool, so we joined," he said, while waiting for his shawarma to be prepared.

The iftar was followed by a night souk, which will be held for three nights