The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
I couldn’t risk staying. The place was in the old Ras Al Khaimah area but you wouldn’t live in it, either. No furniture, no amenities, not even running water. So I did what any smart person would do. I picked up my one woollen blanket to guard against the weather and moved onto the streets of RAK where I have now been ‘residing’ for the past seven months. I have a name. A noble name. Abdul Rahman. I also had a job once, working in the Ministry of Education and I still get my pension from there.
When the sun goes down and the night comes riding in I lie down on a bench in the outer space of a small restaurant and cover myself from the world with my blanket. After 82 years that is all I possess. I am not unhappy about that, in fact I am content.
Actually, it isn’t that uncomfortable and I do not seek pity though I am grateful for the amazing generosity of those who cross my path on any day. Emiratis ensure I get enough to eat and Asian expats have sort of become my friends in that they stop by for a chat or we sip a cup of tea together.
Sometimes, I do wonder what happened to the time, it just fled so fast. I have no family, no relatives, no progeny, they have all passed on, so I guess everyone who gives me a few moments is my family. In that sense I am richer than all my tribe.
Off and on, I do find memories fading away and I try hard to recollect wisps of the past but it isn’t easy. I have seen great changes, all these new things so different from our simple lives in the old days. Yes, I hear less and I am not so sure that is a bad thing, it is all this noise by cars and trucks.
What really bothers me at this moment is not the lack of a roof over my head, that was my choice, but the trouble I am having with my eyes. They water a great deal and that gives me some discomfort. It gets a little blurry sometimes and I am planning to get it seen by a doctor but where is the money, I don’t have it. Maybe, one day I will get enough together or someone may help me, till then I shall survive. Now it is time for me to go to bed, it has been a tiring day and thank you for talking to me, I enjoyed it.
(As told by Abdul Rahman to Sebugwaawo Ismail)
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
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