I am just trying to make money, says Tajulislam

Dubai: Mohammad Taj Al Islam (Tajulislam) came to Dubai from Comilla in Bangladesh three years ago to work as a newsboy for a local Arabic daily, but soon decided that the Dh600 he made per month was not enough.

Today, Mohammad works as a newsboy by night and car cleaner by day. He makes three times as much money that he earns as a newsboy, cleaning the 30 or so cars outside the newspaper's office every day.

But Mohammad never planned to clean cars.

"I was just walking outside the newspaper's office and a man stopped me asking if I'll wash his car. I said okay, and that's how I started," he said.

Mohammad then set up a pricing structure. He charged Dh50 per month to clean on alternate days and Dh10 for one-time cleaning.

From 4am to 8am, Mohammad delivers 600 newspapers on his bicycle to subscribers on one street in the Jumeirah area. After 8am starts his second job until about 9pm, when he goes back to his room, has dinner and goes to sleep.

Mohammad claims that he was the first person to clean cars of the newspaper's employees and holds himself responsible for introducing competition.

"A couple of other Bangladeshi guys saw what I did and asked me to give them some of my customers because they didn't make enough money, so I did," he says with a hint of regret. After acquiring a sufficient customer base, says Mohammad, his co-workers slashed their prices to half, charging Dh50 per month for daily cleaning.

Despite the fierce competition, Mohammad maintains that he still has a loyal base of customers.

"My customers still come to me because I was the first one here. Besides, they like my cleaning. They tell me that they won't leave me," he says.

Mohammad is only educated up to the ninth grade. He says education in Bangladesh is not free and proves to be an "unnecessary expense." More money can be made in Dubai without a university degree than in Bangladesh with one, he claims.

"I want to learn English, of course. Who doesn't? But it's too late for me, and I won't get a job anyway," he says.

For now, Mohammad sends all his savings to his parents, despite them having a "good business", he says.

"Parents are everything. I have to send money to my parents," he adds, saying that some of his savings are kept aside by his father for Mohammad to invest in a business when he moves back in a few years.

"I haven't thought about it yet, I'm just trying to make money for now," he says.