Ajman: “It is a totally different experience for me — from my daily routine, to the food I eat, and the people I spend time with,” said Mohammad Hajaj Mohammad, 35, an Egyptian foreman, working at a construction company based in Ajman. This is his first Ramadan away from family and his country.
“In Egypt during Ramadan, I would be with my entire family, including my father, mother, my wife and children in addition to my sisters and brothers. Of course, I miss that experience and feeling, because it’s my family, but I am not sad [to be away from them] because this is also a new experience for me and I do enjoy that aspect,” he adds.
“Here I feel like I am in my home country … the atmosphere makes you feel that you are never away from home.”
“But I miss our traditional meals, which are obviously different. In Egypt, my family would cook a variety of Egyptian dishes, whereas now I am eating food served in the Ramadan tent in Ajman. I really enjoy it.”
“I never had this type of food before, but now I like them. And I have been trying something new and different dishes this Ramadan.”
“But I miss my home food,” Mohammad said. “Nothing compares to a home-cooked meal by your mother or your wife,” he said. Mohammad and his wife have two children — a daughter who is 4 and a boy who is one-and-a-half–year-old.
“This is the first Ramadan for me fasting away from my family and relatives as I have to boost the income for my family,” he said.
Mohammad says the most noticeable differences in the UAE Ramadan experience is the generosity all around.
Everyone on the streets can feel the generosity of the people of the UAE, setting up Ramadan tents everywhere, in addition to the charitable offerings, he said.
