For single expats iftar brings back memories of home

Dubai: For thousands of workers who have left their families behind in their home countries, iftar time becomes a nostalgic longing for their loved ones.

The thousands of Muslim Arab workers who are in the UAE for a lengthy stay to secure a better future for their families, Ramadan not only brings joy, harmony and peace but also a longing and a growing feeling of home sickness.

While families across the country gather around their iftar tables, these workers break their fast with their colleagues, shadowed by memories of the previous years when they spent Ramadan with their children and parents.

Jabr Abed Al Gafar, a 38-year-old electrician from Egypt who has been working in the UAE for seven years, said although he has got used to live away from his family, it gets more difficult in Ramadan.

"I keep imagining that I am sitting with my five children and wife and having a warm soup back home," he said.

Ebrahim Awad, a 25-year-old worker, who left his wife and 40-day-old son, said the image of his village back home does not disappear from his mind.

"I often think of how my brothers and I, parents and my wife used to sit in our garden to have iftar and talk for hours after," he said.

Meeting friends

Al Gafar, Awad and two other Egyptian workers who are room-mates at a labour accommodation located on the Emirates Road gather each evening to break their fast and perform their prayers.

The workers start their day with the Fajr prayer each day when they have their sohour and then take the bus to the construction site around 6am and come back around 2pm after a short but hard day.

"When we come back from work we have some rest and later we start to prepare for iftar, sometimes the company's owner send iftar meals for everybody," said Abed Al Fatah Abdo, a 25-year-old carpenter who has been living in the UAE for three years.

After the night prayer we usually watch TV, clean the room or wash our clothes, but sometime I go to my friends in Ajman to have a shisha, he added.

The workers say although their stay in the UAE has brought with it many good things and improved their situation back home, they cannot stop thinking of their families.

"My only wish for this holy month and for every coming Ramadan in the future is that I will get back home safe to my children and wife," said Al Gafar.