Emirati attack victim had just beat cancer before London attack

Ali Al Tamimi said he could not believe he overcame stomach cancer only to have another brush with death with his London home was raided by armed men.

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LONDON // As a survivor of stomach cancer, Ali Al Tamimi said he could not believe he faced down the disease only to have another brush with death.

“When I had the cancer I said, ‘What could we get more than this?’” said Mr Al Tamimi who had the disease diagnosed four years ago and is now in remission.

“I could not believe I had the other situation,” he said, after being subjected to the terrifying robbery on Tuesday.

“When you are sick you hope to get some treatment, get some medicine, then you will be all right. But when you feel that you could lose your life again – I just again have to thank God for saving me.”

Mr Al Tamimi, a public relations manager, said he and his wife were due to stay in the capital for a few more days as he awaited his results to determine he was cancer-free.

“I think by Friday we will get all the test results from my check-up and we hope that everything is OK. And honestly, when you ask me when I want to go back to my country, I say ‘I want to go now’.”

The experience has made him empathise with the three Emiratis sisters who were the victims of a brutal hammer attack in a London hotel just 13 days earlier.

“We feel like we know what happened to them. I pray to the God that no one else will ever be in the same situation,” he said, as he urged other travellers to take the necessary precautions to keep safe when overseas.

“Anyone who wants to go anywhere, not just the UK, should be careful; he should know where he will stay, what is the security system.”

Mr Ali Al Tamimi thanked Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, among others, for their help after the attack.

jbell@thenational.ae