In Transit at Dubai International

If you want to see the working world on the move, one of the places where you get this feeling is the Dubai international airport where one finds persons of different cultures, races, backgrounds all making a move. One thing that binds these millions who transit this airport is that they are all workers. Some of them highly skilled, some of them less so, some of them finding opportunities to carry forward their training, some of them going to impart training on less developed parts, a rich mix of different ages and phases of life and orientation.

Talking to fellow travelers gets one a feel of the currents in different parts of the world, and also the major movements in the world in our present turbulent times. Working lives carry one far and wide. Traveling today has become much simpler, less dangerous and even pleasurable than the past times, like in the times of the great traveler Ibn Battuta who crossed thousands of kilometers over several years in very perilous conditions.Now, sipping wine in an Emirates EK 747 flight, I felt a bit ashamed of my city-bred comfort-weakness oriented life style where a six hour halt at Dubai International is supposed to be very taxing.

“There are two types of people who do jobs,� said one seasoned worker. “The first category are those who have no base of their own and so have to work in public or private enterprises to carve a living and future for their family and the second category are those who have a lot of money but do jobs for pleasure.�

He told of his decades long experience, having worked in far and varied circumstances from Kenya, Libya, Egypt to Switzerland and Japan.

“I belong to the first category, being from the hills, and a humble background, I know my level and what it will mean if I spend a few years in the international market for me and my family, their present and future.�

A wise man’s counsel. “Old Monks� we call them, after that famous Rum brand which we used to sip in college hostel nights, thinking of the day gone by and gathering ourselves for the challenges ahead. The education we got in our campuses, has prepared us for the years ahead where we have met many teaching areas, workshops and conferences.

If you see Dubai International as a teaching zone, where you will try to learn something from the co-travelers who pass by, whom you will probably meet just once in your lifetime, they leaving something of their varied experiences on you, and you on your part, giving something of the whiff of the life in your part of the world, then Dubai becomes a unique learning experience.

“You are from the subcontinent?� I ventured to ask one of the co-passengers as he queried at the counter, his accent giving a clue.

“Yes, I am from Karachi� he replied.

“You?�

“From Delhi, but now living in Tripoli.� I answered.

“I am in Kenya now� he expanded on how he learnt the ropes of the hospitality sector from his maternal uncle in Karachi but over a period of time realized that he has to have an independent base for himself, and so ventured to go to Kenya where he has been helping a Gujarati businessman set up a restaurant.

“You see those men in black� he said, pointing to six hefty men, all dressed in black suits, standing out amongst the casually dressed travelers in jeans and T-shirts, shorts and skirts. We were beginning to enjoy our conversation, being able to talk the same tongue and having very similar cultural setups, the same way in which the extended family structures first support and then push you ahead for something more independent, the nuances of what to expect and what not to, the possibilities and limitations of relations. Karachi and Delhi mileu, seemed so similar that we instinctively understood some things, which will be difficult to explain to someone from Saudi or Algeria, Rome or Osaka.

“You mean those tall hefty suited men� I asked.

“Yes! They are from Uganda, working with the American forces in Iraq. The Americans are giving them 8000 US dollars a month to do their dirty work in very risky areas. There were 24 of them in the initial batch, now only six of them are alive. They do tasks which cannot be done or are too dangerous for the Americans to do,� he said, educating me about some of the troubles of the times.

“We are ordinary working people who think about our families,� he said reflecting our common orientations and pains.

“It is the children and women who have been the biggest casualties in these conflicts.� The wizened deep eyes of this young man in his twenties, who has seen a lot of things at this young age, had a far away look.

“I stay on the port city of Misuraata� said a crane operator originally from Hyderabad.

“I do my work, try to do as much overtime as possible and the remaining time is on the internet in my house, talking to my family.� No distractions for this worker who is happy to see his children grow, all but over the internet.

“The internet has changed everything� said a doctor originally from Dhaka. “I remember the times when we used to send letters, and it used to be weeks before we got the reply.�

“Where are you from!� one youngster quizzed us.
“From Tripoli!� I answered.
“Where is that� he said in a made-up manner where it is a style to show one’s ignorance.
“In Libya� I continued.
“Where is that� he again continued his game.
“In the world� I smiled.
“Well I am coming from Sydney-Australia� he said, oozing his attitude.
“Best of luck� we said as we moved on.
It takes all types to make the world.

A Philipino was worried. Sometimes we share things with total strangers and are not on guard talking to them as we know that they cannot use the information to their advantage or to compromise us in any way. Another link we find with them is that they too are fellow expatriate workers who share common issues and concerns, and hence though they may not know us personally, talking to them seems like meeting an old friend.

“Some people in Manila have made my 79 year mother sign off the title of our ancestral house, which my father developed over decades,� she said in a worried tone.

“My mother is old, and at times cannot remember things, and gets confused. These people have taken unfair advantage of this and made her sign on some papers and now things are complicated.�

The announcements for boarding were heard. We said goodbye! Friends and workers in transit, with common threads and links, sharing and learning at Dubai International.