Sultan Al Hajj is the son of a self-taught oil and gas worker – who was also one of the last Emirati workers to strike against British leadership – and the grandson of a “medicine man” providing psychological relief to fellow villagers. Sultan grew up in the emirate of Sharjah, at a time when the UAE was not yet a country, and made it to the highest positions at the oil and gas company Total in Abu Dhabi.  He is currently also the President of the French language institute Alliance Française.

From doing his homework lying on his belly in a tent, with a simple kerosene lamp, to remembering his family members, Sultan shares colourful childhood memories with us from a time prior to the foundation of the UAE.