Thursday, January 18, 2007

Kidnapped

I am working on a project for a wealthy (I hope) Saudi client named Fahd, whose home/office is about 30 km from my flat. Our agreement was that I’d take the bus to his place sometime after noon (when he gets up), and he’d give me a ride home when we were both too tired to continue. Even if he paid enough for me to afford a taxi (which he doesn’t), it’s hard to find a taxi in a remote neighbourhood at 3:00 a.m.

Lately, though, he has been asking me to stay until we’ve finished with the entire project. Since his project is largely on spec, this means giving up everything else I have to do, which isn’t really an option. He says his project is more important than anything else I have, and we have to finish faster than is possible—the usual: if a secretary can type 80 words a minute, why does it take so long to type in a few hundred technical instructions? And surely if you didn’t take breaks, you could finish a lot faster. And what’s there to think about, just type! Why do you need me? You’re the expert. You should know what I need you to do. Etc.

So, Friday morning at 3:00 a.m., he said he was too tired to drive me home, and I was trapped in his villa.

Fahd spent most of his life in the US, but he left after the post-9/11 paranoia made him nervous. His children were raised in the US, but with Saudi attitudes, so his boys kept getting into fights in the UAE, and he finally sent his wife and children back to his house in Texas.

Now he lives on the ground floor of his villa, on a couch in front of his 72” flat-screen TV. The first floor bedrooms, where he used to sleep with his family, are deserted. The second floor is the servants’ quarters.

He said I could sleep anywhere on the first floor.

His boys all had rooms with a double bed and a TV. The oldest boy’s TV does not have parental control, but the younger boys’ TVs are restricted to appropriate programming. In Arabic at that.

One room has about six foam mattresses on the floor. This was the girls’ room.

And one room has a king-sized bed. That was the master bedroom, for Fahd and his wife.

I slept in the oldest boys’ room with the TV on for a night-light. The bed is designed for someone who weighs about half as much as I do, so I did not get a good night’s sleep. The beetles crawling all over the bed didn’t help, either.

Friday, we couldn’t work until sunset. Friday morning, Fahd slept, and Friday afternoon he had to attend the service at the nearby mosque.

Finally, after sunset we resumed work. Saturday around 2:00 a.m., we were too tired to continue, and he wanted me to stay over and start again Saturday morning, but I finally managed to get him to drive me home.

So I finally got home around 3:00 a.m. Saturday. And the visitors that had invited themselves into my place a week ago Friday were not around.

3 Comments:

Blogger CG said...

I know you have mentioned on quite a few occasions that you don't drive. Is this just here in UAE, or do you not drive at all? I really think a beat up old banger could be a wise purchase for you, for times like this.

11:57 am  
Blogger secretdubai said...

Since his project is largely on spec

I am very fearful of your interests in this project. This guy sounds mean: regardless of the work you are putting in now, if he can cut you out later on, he may well do that. I hope that you have more than a verbal contract and that you are keeping a very careful diary of your hours and work for him.

It doesn't strike me that he is treating you with the kind of respect that would indicate he will respect you any more when the cash does start rolling in.

Don't want to sound paranoid, but I heard so many horror stories here of people getting ripped off.

He says his project is more important than anything else I have

If that is so, and if you are so critical to this, then why isn't he treating you with more honour? He could easily put on a driver for you.

12:57 am  
Blogger Legal Translation Company in Dubai said...

RAS AL KHAIMAH EMIRI DECREES
RAS AL KHAIMAH ORDERS
RAS AL KHAIMAH RESOLUTIONS
SHARJAH DECREES
SHARJAH CIRCULARS
SHARJAH LAWS

6:46 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home