(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) An Indian expat is leaving UAE for good after 41 years of service - returning with life-changing experience gained from working in the 'underbelly' of the Capital.
Thomas Varughese worked at Abu Dhabi Municipality's drainage department from 1976 to 2003. He cleaned human waste from manholes for years before getting a promotion.
Varughese had later joined a private company as a PRO.
This Sunday (December 10), Varughese bids a tearful adieu to the UAE and takes home his prized possession - a framed photo of the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, his hero.
Varughese like most expats ended up doing work which came by chance and not by choice. He had just finished Class X and came to the UAE as a stenographer with a typing speed of 75 words per minute and 110 wpm in shorthand.
"I landed in the UAE on March 10, 1976. I tried my luck at few private sector companies but didn't work out. Back then government job weren't in great demand and I managed to get a temporary position as a helper in the drainage department. I got Dh600 as my first salary."
He said the 'unsanitary' work was made difficult by an unfriendly senior colleague.
"I would clean manholes with my bare hands. My senior didn't like me at all. When inside a manhole, my senior would uncork the stopper of house connections - with human waste falling on me. There were many occasions when I would cry as i worked inside the manhole. The human waste would be wiped off from my body but not from my mind.
"I would sleep on a tear-soaked pillow.
"As there was no facility to make phone calls (back in the day), I wrote to my mother about the difficulties here and she replied saying: 'Don't come back, stay put for your siblings'.
I was the eldest in the family with two sisters and a brother. My home back in Kerala was made of cow dung, so you can imagine the situation of my family. I faced all sorts of adversities for my family."
His life changed after marrying Kunjumol in 1982.
"I later got a promotion and moved to the Stores section," Varughese said.
Kunjumol left a federal government job as a lab technician and moved to Abu Dhabi.
"I also like Varughese did a job contrary to my education qualification. I joined as a cashier at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where I worked for 15 years.
"We raised our three daughters in this country and made our life here," the wife added.
After having worked all their lives here, the couple is returning back home after having settled all their children. Shimsy Siju lives in Sharjah, Simmy Georgy moved to New Zealand (Auckland) and Siny Justin is based in Dubai.
As his life in UAE comes to an end, Varughese has just one wish.
"I wish people like us are recognised. There are people who have faced far more but the transformation you see today is because of the vision of one great man - Sheikh Zayed, the founding father of the UAE. I am returning with only his photo as my savings. I have gained a lot from this country and return a happy man," Varughese said from his daughter Shimsy Siju's flat in Sharjah.
Ashwani Kumar
MENAFN0812201700490000ID1096208973
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