Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has addressed a message to the young men and women of Dubai, recounting the story of the "Years of the Card" — a period of severe hardship in the city's history.
In the message, Sheikh Mohammed recalled how Dubai was struck by two successive economic blows: the collapse of the pearling industry, on which much of the population depended, followed by the outbreak of the Second World War, which disrupted trade routes and supplies. Poverty, hunger and disease spread through the city as families lost their livelihoods and struggled to secure basic food.
The era became known locally as the "Years of the Card" because Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, acting under the direction of the late Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, distributed ration cards entitling families to limited food supplies.
Sheikh Mohammed urged Dubai's youth never to forget this chapter, noting that behind today's skyscrapers, thriving infrastructure, airports and ports lies a city that once knew hunger and hardship — overcome by men and women who refused to remain captive to those conditions. He said today's generation now carries that same spirit forward as it leads the city's future.