Name: Mir Imran Hussain
Age: 31 years old
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Customer service
Emirate: Sharjah
In the UAE: Six years
“Ramadan has always been special to me, more so as it was on the eve of Ramadan that I landed in UAE seven years ago! It is a pleasant sight to see how the residents here respect and acknowledge the importance of everyone’s faith, be it the non-Muslims taking their meals in privacy during office hours or the shop establishments strictly adhering to the timings. They all set fine examples of mutual co-existence.
“I have had wonderful experiences of witnessing different ways people break their fast. From lavish iftar parties in five-star hotels, a quiet meal with family at home, bachelors breaking their fast in the street side restaurants or a few labourers seated on their delivery pushcarts in Old Dubai. The carts that the labourers sit on, so evenly balanced, one by one while they eat is enough to impress even an architect. I saw this all within a few meters around the Dubai museum. Everyone is content with what they have.
“Besides these experiences, one story is close to my heart. It was my second year in Dubai, when my elder brother and our parents had gone to watch the iftar canon in the Bur Dubai area. The canon was fired to announce that it was time to end the fast. Most of us were seated in our cars waiting to witness the traditions in practice. As soon as the canon was fired, people began driving back home.
“While we, too, started our car, I saw this little girl, who was clearly a tourist, who walked towards the policemen who were looking after the iftar canon arrangements. She came closer to them, smiled and offered dates them to break their fast. They smiled back, accepted the fruit and broke their fast with dates offered by her. She was joyous and she ran towards her father and hugged him announcing her sheer happiness. This scene was etched in my memory as we drove past the little angel that evening.”
