The Goodness Moment
Talish stands at the intersection of a major street in Jeddah, sweeping the pavement with an old broom. As the light turns red, his eyes roll and the sweeping stops. He expertly navigates the slowing cars hoping that a driver will roll down the window and hand him some change. This is his “goodness” moment.
One day, Talish was roaming the streets of Sirajganj (impoverished city in Bangladesh) aimlessly with friends when he learned that his next door neighbor, Anjal, got a coveted $150/month job in Al-Ghat, a small town 140 miles northwest of Riyadh. He was hired to watch a farm; clean, feed and help breed camels.
Often looked down upon by urban elites, the camel trade industry, worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, is centered in the famous “Um Rugaiba” camel festival. In 2015, the Saudi public was raged at the news: Most expensive camel sold for $40 million, $30 million shy from the most expensive horse ever sold.
As a child, I used to travel regularly on vacation to different parts of the world. Back in the eighties, the westerners viewed Saudi Arabia as the land of oil and camels. The description infuriated me, partly because I never saw that side of my country. I never met a bedouin, rode a camel or even made a road trip to the desert.
Fast forward, the year 2016: I read the local headlines daily and many of my social media followers hail from affluent camel breeders. The westerners weren’t completely wrong after all.
Talish receives the news one morning. It was heaven calling. His ailing father and eight siblings were all living under poverty line, much like the third of the population in Bangladesh. He had to break free. This was the fastest and cheapest way. He went through a grueling process of applying, medical testing and worst of all, hoping! He put it all behind as his plane touched down at King Abdulaziz airport in Jeddah three years ago.
Talish rushes to the glossy black Audi at the light. The driver made eye contact and rolled down the window. “Shukran, JazakAllah Kheir” (Thank you, May God bless and reward you) he murmurs the muslim phrase of gratefulness. A hindu, he had to learn these phrases to get by in Saudi Arabia.
On a good day, the goodness moment repeats ten times. On bad day, it never came. During Ramadan, the month of kindness this moment repeats several times per hour. It is a kind month indeed. His contract states $200 per month. This amount doubles with his traffic light conquests.
With $1,000 in savings, Talish hopes to shift jobs this year. He plans to join a team of gasoline station Bangali workers. Those make a little bit more, as their lives are at risk from drunken drivers or armed robbery.
And that’s another tale.
