“Every postal stamp has a story to tell, an occasion to commemorate. Indeed, stamps are a treasure trove of information about a country and its progress.”
The UAE has a rich philatelic history and its stamps are as informative as they are colourful. Perhaps no one can throw light on the philatelic evolution of the nation better than Essa Aldaboos, a former Head of Postal Services at the General Postal Authority, Dubai, whose fascination with stamps began when he was only seven.
“The boys in my family used to collect stamps. I recollect going to the Dubai Post Office on the Creek in the late 1960’s and requesting visitors to remove stamps from envelopes and give them to us (his cousins used to accompany him on this mission).” In hindsight, he wishes he had asked for the envelopes as well – they too would have had a story to tell.
Although Aldaboos and his cousins worked hard to improve their stamp collection, they were not satisfied with the progress they were making. They realised that if their collection had to truly improve, some sacrifices were in order – they decided to trade some of their marbles for stamps. “We would spend hours trading”, recalls Aldaboos.
It is, therefore, a matter of some significance that his haunt during childhood – the post office – was to be the training ground of his career. After completing studies at Al Shaab school in Dubai and subsequently in a college in the UK, Aldaboos started training as a clerk in the post office. That was in 1979. “We had to undergo training in different areas – in the back office, at the counter and in the department where parcels and registered letters were accepted.” This all-round training allowed him to get a unique insight into the development of philately in the Emirates.
The philatelic history of the UAE can be said to have begun on January 1, 1973, when the UAE Post Office under the Federal Ministry of Communications issued the first set of postage stamps for use in the seven Emirates, which had united 13 months earlier.
Post offices functioned in the Emirates even earlier – in Dubai since 1909 (the first in the Gulf) and in Abu Dhabi since 1963. In 1963, Dubai became the first emirate to issue stamps. Sharjah took its place in the philatelic lore when it became the transit point for the first air mail service between England and India.
However, not many stamps were sold in Dubai, which at the time had a small population. Today, it is difficult to find a genuine, used stamp of the Emirates from those times, said Aldaboos.
Stamps issues by Dubai
In the early days, stamps of the UAE did not command a high price. One of the reasons for this was that the contract for issuing stamps had been awarded to a philatelic agency in Beirut, which produced stamps far in excess of the demand. But this surfeit was controlled when the Government of Dubai took over the issuing of stamps in 1963.
Nowadays, the situation is so quality-controlled that there are very few errors in printing. Aldaboos recalls a faux pas in 1977 concerning the National Day set of stamps. “The date of issue in Arabic was wrongly printed on these stamps – it was from the left, instead of from the right. The mistake was detected only after the stamps had been distributed among various post offices, and they were withdrawn immediately.”
With time, the reputation of the stamps issued in the UAE grew steadily and stamp collectors around the world began to learn more about the country. In the UAE, philately grew in popularity and today, there are many stamp collectors, many of whom are children. In June 1996, the Emirates Philatelic Association was formed. “We have won a record number of medals in the World Philatelic Exhibitions and are a member of the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately. Our President is a member of the FIAP Board,” said Aldaboos with pride.
The Association encourages development of philately by holding symposia and exhibitions regularly. “We encourage schools and other institutes to organise philatelic groups and assist them by issuing magazines and publications related to stamp collecting.” The Association, whose secretariat remains open thrice a week after normal working hours for the convenience of its members, was allocated a large room in the Riqa Post Office.
About postal services in the UAE, Aldaboos points out that although there is no door-to-door delivery of mail in the UAE, a facility known as “Easy Mail” is available. Companies may avail of this daily service in which mail is delivered and letters for posting are picked up. The service is particularly popular among banks and government offices, for its quality and economical rates. The emphasis of the postal department is on providing excellent service to the customer, Aldaboos adds.
His love for stamps was a fortuitous happening in his life – it paved the way for a career which he thoroughly enjoys. “I feel I have been very lucky in that my childhood hobby became my career. We aimed to make the GPO one of the most efficiently run establishments in the country, and I enjoyed the challenge of making it happen.”
Have his children inherited his love for philately? Two of his five sons are budding philatelists, he says. One of them, Rashid, prefers to sort out his stamps according to countries. Saeed, his other son, who is also interested in stamps, however, chooses to do things differently. But whatever his sons’ approach to philately, Aldaboos enjoys helping them in their hobby.
Stamps are not the only things to have left an indelible impression on his mind. He also enjoys travel and angling. And on the subject of angling, the philosopher in him rises to the bait: “It is best not to expect anything when you are fishing, because everything has to be right, or you have to be lucky. It depends on the moon, which day of the month it is, the tide, the current and the wind.” Life could take a page out of fishing. You throw the bait and wait for the fish to overwhelm you. Essa Aldaboos revels in his career and his hobbies, spending time with his family is very special.
