DANESFIELD — It took some time before the hotel staff could organize the incoming guests when the outgoing had not checked out. So we decided to go to the bar. Surprise, surprise. Expecting to meet some Middle East bigwigs and oil tycoons we found instead Veronica’s media friends and colleagues from around the world. They were at the party because like us we were friends of Baria Alammudin, Amal’s mother who is the foreign editor of Al-Hayat.
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So the excitement at Danesfield was not all about George Clooney or Hollywood. With the chattering media there the women in media, Baria’s friends were talking of all the world issues under the sun.
Motivated by a highly successful woman like her mother Baria, it is not surprising Amal became successful as a world-renowned barrister in the career she chose. It was a very friendly crowd made up of friends and relatives of the Alammudins and Meknas.
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A letter personally addressed to both of us was waiting on top of the dresser table in our room saying “There will be a champagne reception held at the Grand Hall and the Versailles Suite where canapés will be served from 6.30 this evening until 8 p.m. Escort cards will be there with your name and which table you will be seated on. You will be ushered through to the Marquee at 8 p.m. where dinner will be served. You will have a menu at your place setting where the waiting staff will take your order. Music and dancing will follow at 10 p.m. in the Versailles Suite until late and an evening buffet will be provided at midnight in the Chiltern suite. Breakfast will be served on Sunday morning from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. in the Chiltern and the Versailles suites.” That, in a nutshell were the events of that unforgettable evening.
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It was almost 3 o’clock in the afternoon when our room became ready to be occupied. We had to unpack our clothes as quickly as possible and then have them pressed and ready to wear. I brought an old black gown by Patis Tesoro that I had remodeled into a more modern version. Veronica had an orange pink gown made also by Patis.
There was a make-up room and hairdressing room on the ground floor for those who wanted it. I did not need any hairdressing because I had gone earlier to Philip de Vera’s shop, a Filipino who has made good in London and now has a posh shop of his own. I went through the notice so quickly and thought that we would be fetched from our rooms to be on time for the cocktails. But it was not necessary.
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Baria, dressed in a gown by Saudi Ashi, and Ramzi stood by the Grand Hall to receive guests. There was a man in a red coat (described as the toastmaster in the letter to all visitors) who ushered the guests in after greeting Amal’s parents to the Grand Hall and Versailles suites. In a while the suites were packed as we all milled around the door to greet the couple when they came in.
When at last they showed up, Baria introduced George and Amal to the guests. They are a handsome couple.
I teased the Kuwaiti ambassador, “Gosh the whole Middle East was here.” Among those who attended were Jan Eliasson, deputy secretary general of the UN, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Al-Hariri and a number of cabinet ministers from Lebanon, also the minister of culture of Bahrain Sheika Mai Alkhalifa and many Arab ambassadors to the court of St James, including the Dewayane of the diplomatic corp Khaled Al- Duwaisan and his wife Dala Alhumaidi and British ambassadors to the ME.
Everyone was moving around. It was a very friendly crowd made up of friends and relatives of the Alammudins and Miknas families. Akram Miknas was recently named as the most influential businessman in the Middle East by Forbes Magazine.
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The marquee could be seen from my hotel window in the distance. It was a short walk from the hotel and guests were eager to see what it would look like since it was decorated by a famous designer Ammar Bashir who is from Sudan. He is the designer to the stars and royalty.
When the guests were finally allowed into the marquee, it was a sight to behold. There was an orchestra at the front of the huge tent and the tables laid out under a canopied roof. Each table had flowers and a strange arrangement at the center of the table made of white parrots.
Veronica and I sat in the table for British ambassadors to the Middle East. I sat next to the British ambassador to Jordan’s wife. The UN representative of the Women in Iraq was mystified by the arrangement of parrots. She wanted to ask the designer what it was for. We talked about the conditions in Iraq and I was amazed that she stays on despite the difficulties in the troubled region.
Our table was number 5 and it was directly behind the presidential table with the bride and groom. Veronica was talking with another ambassador from across the table. Before I knew it, she had stood up and went to greet George in the next table. The handsome actor gallantly took her hand and kissed it as she poured her heart to please, please do something about the genocide against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. I did not know what the topic of conversation was all about but I was surprised that she had decided to talk directly about the issue that was haunting her for months now — how to save the Rohingya Muslims.
I looked in her direction wondering what it was about. The wife of the British ambassador to Jordan consoled me saying “I must give you credit for raising a daughter courageous enough to do that. For me it was the highlight of the evening.
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Those in our table agreed that George and Amal with their popularity have a unique opportunity to take up world issues especially on human rights that otherwise would remain hidden from public knowledge. The British diplomat in Iraq of Women in the UN agreed that it would be a welcome path for the newly weds — Amal and George — as advocates of what is good and human for the world. While it is true that George has already taken up some human rights issues as well, we hope Amal will take the lead for this initiative they could take up as a couple.
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When I was thinking of a title for this column, I thought of one that would describe Amal, more than just being the bride of George Clooney of Hollywood she should be Amal, a woman who matters.