DUBAI: When 14-year-old Hyder Reza Ali saw long queues of Pakistanis lined up outside airplane ticketing offices in the scorching heat of Dubai this Ramadan, he was curious.
The tenth grader’s father explained that these were Pakistanis who lived in the UAE for work but were now stranded due to the coronavirus pandemic and were desperate to confirm travel reservations that would take them back home. Many, he said, had lost their jobs and were too poor to afford plane tickets.
Hyder Reza Ali at his home on August 31, 2020. (AN Photo courtesy Hyder Reza Ali)
Ali knew he had to help and accompanied his father, banker Kazim Ali, to meet the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai and ask him how the family could help.
“I started sending out emails and messages to my friends and relatives asking them to contribute whatever little they could,” Ali, who is originally from Karachi, told Arab News in a phone interview on Monday.
Within a month, Ali, who started his campaign in mid-July, had raised AED78,300, or Rs.3,524,246.
The Consul General of Pakistan Ahmed Amjad Ali presents a shield of appreciation to Hyder Reza Ali at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai, UAE, on August 25, 2020 (AN Photo courtesy Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai)
Although not a large amount, it has so far helped buy tickets for 24 people who have since left for Multan, Lahore and Karachi. A new list is being readied by Pakistan International Airlines, Ali said, of more people who would be repatriated with his funds in the coming weeks.
Ali, who personally distributed the tickets to the stranded Pakistanis, said most of them were people who had been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Expats make up the majority of the population of the UAE, which includes Dubai emirate. Residency is tied to employment and the Gulf Arab state does not offer citizenship routes to non-nationals.
Hyder Reza Ali waits at the Pakistan International Airlines office in Dubai to distribute 24 tickets to stranded Pakistanis which he purchased using money he personally collected. Dubai, UAE, July 27, 2020 (AN Photo courtesy Hyder Reza Ali)
A regional tourism and business hub, Dubai has been hit hard by the pandemic though authorities recently lifted a curfew and have removed most restrictions, including allowing foreign visitors to enter the emirate from July 7.
But many expatriates have no option but to leave after job losses, and face an uncertain future.
The Consul General of Pakistan Ahmed Amjad Ali presents a shield of appreciation to Hyder Reza Ali at the Consulate General of Pakistan in Dubai, UAE, on August 25, 2020 (AN Photo courtesy Consulate General of Pakistan, Dubai)
The expatriate exodus is expected to be larger than after the 2008-2009 financial crisis and the 2014-2015 plunge in prices for oil, the Gulf region’s main export, the International Labour Organization has said.
Though the problem is a huge one, Ali said he would do everything he could to pitch in.
Last week, Ahmed Amjad Ali, the Consul General of Pakistan to Dubai, awarded the Dubai College student a certificate of appreciation and a shield for his efforts.
The consul general said he was touched by the young boy’s passion.
“Though the repatriation process for stranded Pakistanis has been completed, the consulate in Dubai has still accepted requests from around 100 people in need of free tickets to travel back home,” he said. “We are helping such people with the help of community members.”
Ali’s father said he had always been charitable and helpful by nature but this was the first time he had taken on something “on this level.”
“Hyder has managed,” Kazim said, “and has got a lot of response and appreciation from the consulate and the community which has encouraged him further.”
