Ground Zero

After being here for almost 8 months, I have finally come back down to earth.I find myself waking up to the realities of life daily these days.

What caused it?

First, a friend's husband lost his job after the company decided to downsize the organization. I thought it was easy to find work in Dubai. Unfortunately, not every sector hires actively, especially those which skills are widely available, like administrative staff, or project managers. They were living on credit everyday, banks breathing down their necks, with two little mouths to feed. In the UAE, for married couples to stay together, the easiest way would be to have both parties working in the country. If one works, and the other not, the one who's jobless will need to be sponsored by a spouse who earns more than 10,000AED per month. Failing which, the other half will be issued a visiting visa. It's sad. Hence, families who are able to stay together here are very privileged indeed.

A few weeks later, I met an engineer who works for a local company. According to him, the company hires expatriates actively, but fires actively too. Every three months, people are laid off for turning up a few minutes late for work, not working after official office hours, going for lunch, and of course, insufficient profit generating and cost savings initiatives. Just within a short span of six months, three of his team mates were laid off. However, nobody was hired to replace their positions. As a result, he was forced to undertake the responsibilities of those who left. Today, he is overworked, often working until late in the night and on weekends. Now, he is desperately seeking for a way out.

Every country has its own culture. Some are gentle, some courteous, some rough. In the Middle East, for people who come from peace-loving nations, such as Southeast Asian countries, it can be quite shocking. Here, people express dissastisfaction openly, conduct discussions with loud,raised voices and are very insistent and indignant on what they want. They squeeze the workers dry, down to the very last drop, to ensure that you contribute all that you have. Working with Chinese, on the other hand, presents a stark contrast. They are so quiet and calm, displaying a straight face all the way through your presentation,  and you can't even read their thoughts. I think to understand such nations, requires a totally different set of communication skills.

I also discovered that some people were brought here through illegal channels and unethical methods. I know. We read about it in the papers all the time. But to actually meet someone whom you know personally, whom you interact with on a daily basis, to discover their history and how their ignorance and innocence were exploited for quick profit was simply heart-breaking. It made me wonder, "How could the people be involved, have the heart to cause such grievous hurt to these young souls? Didn't they feel the least bit guilty? Could they even fall sound asleep in the night, knowing that their victims cried their hearts out as they lay on cold, hard floors, and felt so hopeless and disheartened, as they trudged through work every day, bounded by invisible handcuffs and unbreakable bonds?"

One of the cleaners has a bachelor's degree in tourism, worked in a travel agency for three years and was about to be promoted. Lured by the high salary in UAE and abundant opportunities, she signed up for a job which she thought consisted of the same job description back home, only to find out it was the job of tea-lady. Devastated, she wanted to go back home, but was told that she'd have to pay a hefty fine for all the fees for processing visas, flight tickets, etc. So, she had to surrender and yield to the will of the company for two years. During that period, she was not allowed to return back to her home country at all.

Another was an accountant who was hired in different company, only to find out that on top of the accountancy job he was hired to execute, he was also required to distribute water bottles around the region, which includes driving a truck and carrying them, one by one, on his back, in winter and summer. So in the day time, he had to contend with balancing water bottles, while in the night, he had to balance figures.

Coming here, it's like signing up for the ultimate test of life; to test your yield strength and the extent of your will power; to discover your true potential, what you're truly capable of, and discovering your true personality, values and ethics. In every other way, it has caused many to turn to various sources of release outlets to seek for solace and comfort. As expats, we realize, staying in this country is a rare privilege indeed. Not only do we become older and wiser, we also learn to be more humane, compassionate and sensitive to the plight of others, actively helping out in every way we can.

In fact, when the news of a prison inmate jailed because of her inability to pay back an incredible amount of debt she owed to the bank, a generous expatriate paid it off for her, so that she and her daughter could return to their home country. Elsewhere, some friends of an inmate, surrendered their passports to the local authorities to bail out a man who was innocent and wrongly accused.

It is here that I feel that no doubt money is important. But the ultimate aim of getting more money, apart from improving the quality of one's individual and family life, it's to bring greater benefit, spreading relief, cheer and happiness to those who truly needs it. May we remember all the kindness and generosity others have shown us as we move on in life, and remember to do the same to others at all times. For life is about sharing and sharing is... love.