“To all those listening to this story, their relationship was something beyond an employer and an employee,” writes Nisha Ponthalil, a former journalist and a Malayali settled in UAE. She has turned to the netizens of Facebook to help her – or rather, her father PK Vijayan – find his long-lost Lebanese employer, Izam Al Hussain.
More than an employer, Izam was like a big brother to Vijayan. Izam not only gave him a job but ensured his welfare in every aspect.
A few months ago, Vijayan, who was visiting his daughter in UAE, chanced upon some old photographs clicked in Abu Dhabi, in an old family album. Among them was a fading image of Vijayan and Izam’s brother, Imad Al Hussain. “Once again, he proved that he never gets tired of telling stories about Izam. I heard the story and saw the pictures for the umpteenth time, and it urged me to write this, hoping to find Izam Al Hussain in this viral era of social media,” says Nisha.
A story that began in the 1980s
Year: 1981. After harrowing months in Mumbai, PK Vijayan, then a 25-year-old married man with a daughter, left for UAE in search of better job opportunities. He managed to get a tailoring job visa through an agent by paying an amount of Rs 30,000. On reaching UAE however, he was taken to a construction site in Al Ruwaissa, 240 kilometres away from Abu Dhabi. It was then that Vijayan realised he was duped by the agent.
“Responsibility of a huge family with three sisters of marriageable age, and the inability to pay back the money he had borrowed for his visa forced him to take up the construction work braving the scorching sun,” writes Nisha.
'Sweltering heat, miserable living space sans air-conditioning and terrible food' – she describes her father’s working conditions. While his colleagues left the job, Vijayan continued to toil at the construction site, and even availed overtime to finally pay off the loan a year later.
Soon, there was an accident at the site. Although he escaped, it shook his confidence. He left the job.
“A couple of days later, papa got the job of a salesman in a fruit and vegetable shop at the posh Adnoc housing complex in Al Ruwaissa, run by a young Lebanese citizen named Izam Al Hussain. Izam took an instant liking towards his new employee and he slowly handed over the responsibility of the shop to my father,” she writes.
In a couple of months, happy with Vijayan’s work, Izam hiked his salary, gave him a better accommodation and even opened a food account for Vijayan at a nearby restaurant.
Izam, who lived in Abu Dhabi, dropped in only once in a while to check the accounts. “During one such visit, he noticed that my father's shirt was a bit unclean, so he immediately instructed the nearby laundry to wash his clothes regularly,” Nisha recalls one of the fond memories her father has shared with her.
“Which employer would have bothered to invite his employee of two years to his house and made him stay with his family, which consisted of his mother, two brothers and a sister of marriageable age, just before he was about to leave for India for a vacation? Izam also surprised papa with a huge box full of gifts for his family,” she says.
But that was the last time Vijayan saw Izam. “Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, he could not go back to his job as expected. Many telegrams, letters with an offer of a higher salary and better job and not even a visa could not change papa's mind. The time clock kept ticking. Fortunes and misfortunes visited father's life. He sought refuge in a couple of Gulf countries in difficult times, but he could never contact his old employer as he had lost all his contacts,” says Nisha. After his three daughters were married, Vijayan once again returned to Kerala, and settled in Wayanad.
As Vijayan recently leafed through the pages of the old album, Nisha says, “From his words, it was pretty clear that he would like to meet Izam.”
Vijayan was able to recall only a few landmarks near his previous place of work. “He recollected that half a kilometre away from the shop, there was a post office and a bank (Al Ahali, not sure) and almost 10 kilometres away, Hotel Ramada had a branch,” she writes.
Ending her note on Facebook, which has received a good number of shares and comments, Nisha says, “I request all readers to keep sharing this story of love, which is sans borders, religions and languages, till it reaches someone who knows Izam, who papa perceives as a symbol of love and humanity. Waiting for that day my papa meets him.”