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Abu Dhabi: Inspired Abu Dhabi students are taking action to combat the threat posed by plastic bags.
Residents of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) Madinat Zayed campus, about 200km west of Abu Dhabi city, are participating in a campaign conducted by a group of female Emirati students.
The girls were inspired by Gulf News' campaign urging people to say "No to Plastic Bags" and in particular a report on how camels were being killed by plastic carriers.
The title of the girls' campaign, "Desert without camels is like the earth without air", was unanimously agreed upon because the young Emiratis said they could not comprehend a life without camels.
Maitha Musallam, an applied business technology student, said: "The students have minimised their usage of plastic bags and some have even started collecting abandoned carriers in the desert."
Many Emiratis in the area own camels on their desert farms. Family members regularly visit with chips and other food products in plastic wrappers. They are often left abandoned in the sand.
"Very few people realise that camels fall ill because of plastic garbage," said Mariam, another student. She did find one camel owner who said he had recently discovered that camels were eating plastic bags left behind by reckless individuals.
He said he witnessed a veterinarian operating on a camel and removing a plastic bag from its throat.
The students' campaign was initiated by their English teacher, Wade Muncil, who comes from the US. He tasked 35 girls to undertake a project on the dangers of plastic bags.
Muncil said: "I was moved by the Gulf News report highlighting how plastic bags kill camels. I showed the article to the students, many of whom are camel owners. When I discussed the report at home my wife suggested I should encourage my students to do something to save their camels."
Each group involved in the campaign consisted of five students participating in a range of projects.
"We enjoyed doing research and presenting the information to locals," said Rafa'a, whose project was on the history of camels.
The students made posters, brochures and leaflets and distributed them to locals, including camel owners, shopkeepers and children.
"People said they were ready to discard plastic bags. But alternative carriers are not available. We have designed beautiful cloth bags and we encourage the industry to produce such bags," the students said.
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