Trying to get to the US

Today, I had been working with Fahad and Jabbar. Jabbar had a flight from Dubai to the US at 3:00 a.m. this morning. We worked until 12:30 a.m., skipping supper, then raced to the airport to make the 1:00 a.m. closing of the flight. We followed Jabbar to the sign that said, in Arabic and English, ‘Passengers ONLY Beyond This Point!!!!!’ Fahad is from Saudi Arabia, and, coming from an oral culture, doesn’t read (he can, he just doesn't). He’d told me to follow him, no matter what, so I did.

The security guard asked to see our tickets. Fahad, dressed in dishdash, explained in Arabic that we all had e-tickets, would pick them up at the counter, and were in a big hurry. The security guard asked to see our passports. Jabbar produced his, but Fahad and I had a bit of a problem, since we were only there to see Jabbar off. More shouting in Arabic. The security guard explained, in perfect English, that I had to leave, so I tried to leave, but we had come through an entrance-only opening. I was stuck for five minutes before Fahad got ejected and showed me the secret exit.

Then Fahad went up to an official-looking dishdash, handed him the local equivalent of €4, and was handed €2 back. I thought this was baksheesh. I was wrong. Fahad said he was sorry, but the dishdash had said they could sell Fahad an escort ticket, but not me, so Fahad asked me to wait in the airport lounge. Fahad said every UAE Citizen could tell at a glance that Fahad was a Saudi Citizen, and would discriminate just as if he were an ordinary ex-pat, in spite of the GCC agreements, so nothing Fahad could say would get me into the ‘Passengers Only’ part of the airport. I went to the lounge, and Fahad walked back through the ‘Passengers Only’ door.

At 3:00 a.m., Fahad called to tell me that some officials had taken Jabbar out of the line into a special room. This had happened shortly after 1:00 a.m., and Fahad had tried everything to get Jabbar on the plane, but to no avail. No explanation, no idea if Jabbar had been released to the gate (where Fahad couldn't go, even with an escort pass). I stayed in the lounge.

Finally, Fahad was asked to leave, so he called me and told me to met me at the airport exit. Still no idea if Jabbar had made it out of Dubai, but nothing more we could do.

So Fahad drove me to a late supper, then home.