"The first thing I will do when I reach home is go to a mosque and thank Allah."
Faraj Mubarak, 80, a Saudi fisherman made that vow with tears in his eyes.
He has been separated from his family for 40 years doing odd jobs in the UAE with no identification papers.
For the last six months, he was confined at Dubai's Rashid Hospital undergoing treatment for tuberculosis.
Now, Mubarak's grief has turned into rejoicing after the Saudi press splashed his story and changed his fate.
Mubarak told XPRESS that he is looking forward to going back to his hometown near Dammam and seeing his two daughters.
"I spoke to them on the phone after 40 long years. They told me my wife was no more and that this Eid they came to Dubai to find me. I thought my family assumed I was dead," Mubarak said.
"I didn't have any documents or money to go back home."
The Royal Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Dubai is now arranging for his exit pass and a plane ticket home.
Mubarak had refused to leave the hospital as he was afraid of ending up on the streets.
With nowhere to go after getting treatment, Mubarak made the hospital his home.
Mubarak came to Dubai by sea but was stranded without any papers and communication links to his home.
A Saudi consulate official said they will issue identification and travel documents and pay for Mubarak's airfare to help him return to his home in Saudi Arabia.