A homeless UAE-based man was hired by Umm Al Quwain's royal family after his story went viral on social media earlier this week.
Ezzat Anwar arrived in the UAE back in January thinking he was hired for a job in hospitality. He later realized he had been scammed by a recruitment firm, as the company he was excited to work at didn't actually exist.
The 29-year-old Egyptian couldn't bear the thought of letting his wife and kids down by going back to his home country penniless, so he decided to stay in the UAE until he found a job. With nowhere to stay, the man slept in mosques and parks in Sharjah for two and a half months. After a while, he was spotted outside a local Starbucks by American-Emirati author Dedra L. Stevenson, who wrote about his plight on Facebook.
The woman noticed Anwar had been sitting close to the coffee shop on several of her coffee runs and felt that he needed help.
"Finally, I gathered up courage to ask him if everything was okay. He didn't say much in the beginning but said everything was fine. To my question on where he stayed, he looked away with watery eyes. I knew I had to do my bit to help," Stevenson said, according to Khaleej Times.
Just minutes after Stevenson sent out a Facebook post about Anwar's plight, messages started pouring in.
One of them was from Dubai-based media professional Heba Korayem, who "called up her best friend" Meera Butti Omeir, asking if she could help out. The latter happens to be the wife of Umm Al Quwain Deputy Ruler Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla III.
After making a few calls with her husband and palace staff, the royal was able to secure Anwar a job at the palatial household in Umm Al Quwain, half an hour by car from the emirate of Sharjah where the man was found. The Egyptian man was thrilled to hear of his new role and has since moved into the palace.
"We showed him his room and the kitchen. He was humbled at how things turned up. I told my toddlers about him and they looked around the house for ways to cheer him up. One of them picked up a shampoo, another a banana and the third wanted to give him bed sheet among other stuff," Omeir revealed, according to Khaleej Times.
Anwar's life transformed thanks to a single post
Anwar credits Stevenson for saving his life and helping out at a time when he was so helplessly desperate.
"I almost lost hope, and did not know what to do. I cannot fail my kids and wife. I have come here to work, not to have fun. I cannot just return home penniless," he said.
The man, who's also known as Abu Ahmed, used to work as a butcher in a small village near Egypt's El Mahalla El Kubra and moved to the UAE to find better opportunities. He now refers to Stevenson as his "kind savior" because she tried to help him in every way she could, even offering him a sum of money, which he refused.
"I was thankfully offered a job as a foreman here at one of the rest houses of a UAQ royal," he explained.
The young man said he was overwhelmed by the number of calls he got from people who wanted to help out. He added that he now feels secure and happy that he'll be able to provide for his family back home.
