A combo image shows Ashraf Blanza, Atif Mahmud Nawaz Khan, Naseer Arakal Muhammad and Abdul Rashid Kotout.

Yamama Badwan, Staff Reporter

Four residents of Dubai, of different nationalities, waited 30 minutes on Tuesday morning (Aug.24) to rescue a pregnant cat stuck on the balcony of the second floor of one of the buildings in Deira Dubai.

They held their nerves as they were trying to lure a cat that was stuck on the balcony of a building, on the second floor, to help it jump on a sheet of cloth.

Their sense of humanity, which is prevalent in the UAE, and their reward for their good deeds was a praise from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

One of the heroes of this humanitarian mission, Ashraf Blanza, a Moroccan national, and a building guard, who has been residing in the country for 4 years, told Gulf Today that by chance he was attracted to the sound of the cat that was suspended on the balcony of the second floor at eight in the morning.

He tried hard to help her not to fall on the ground and be harmed, as he felt that it was worth standing in the sun for any time required, as the cat is a pet that has no way of surviving the fall.

He added that 3 young men rushed to his aid, which gave him more encouragement to try to save her, because of his sense of duty towards the UAE, which provided the opportunity for a decent life and equal treatment for all.

He expressed his feeling of pride when he found a tweet by Sheikh Mohammed, which read, “Proud and happy to see such acts of kindness in our beautiful city.  Whoever identifies these unsung heroes, please help us thank them.”

Meanwhile, Atif Mahmud Nawaz Khan, a Pakistani national and a sales representative, had been residing in the country since 2018, was by chance on the same street, and he was delivering an order to a store, so he rushed to others to provide assistance, out of his sense of humanity.

He said that he was overwhelmed with a sense of pride after he provided assistance to a pet, as he was ready to spend the whole day to save the cat from death, not just 30 minutes, but he was very nervous for the fear that anything might happen to her, but with the help of other young men, they managed to bring her down to safety.

He added that whoever resides in the UAE derives humanitarian actions from its rational government and generous people, who do not differentiate between nationality, religion or colour in their dealings, which confirms that tolerance in the UAE cannot be compared to any other country.

As for Naseer Arakal Muhammad, an Indian national, and a driver, who has been a Dubai resident for 13 years, noticed other young men trying to help a cat stuck on the balcony of a building. He rushed to help them to rescue it, through a sheet of cloth, and they all tried to lure it by making a "meow" sound.

One of them even carried a cardboard box in a desperate attempt to help the cat, which didn’t help.

Abdul Rashid Kotout, an Indian national, the one who recorded the video, explained that the rescued cat was always present near his store. He used to feed it daily and said that she was pregnant.

He noticed that it was stuck in the balcony of the building opposite the store, and he could not move, and fortunately there were two passersby, and they stretched out a small piece of cloth to save her from falling, initially she did not jump, and then they brought a big sheet of cloth so that she could jump safely, and then I fed her again.