Abu Dhabi cobbler says UAE transformed his life

Abu Dhabi: Azad Bahadur Khan who came to Abu Dhabi 15 years ago, carrying nothing with him except the clothes he was wearing but the UAE has entirely transformed his life.

Bahadur Khan, a cobbler sits in a tiny shop along with his 22-year-old son, and both mend people’s old shoes to earn their livelihood and support the family back home in Pakistan.

Azad Bahadur Khan with his son Abdul Quddus at their shop on Electra Street in Abu Dhabi. Quddus came to Abu Dhabi two years ago to help his father in his work.

The 51-year-old cobbler doesn’t feel ashamed of doing the job and he has a profound love for his profession, which financially supports his family and children.

Speaking to Gulf News, Khan said: “I had nothing back home and was surviving on a paltry income from working as a pickup driver. But things have changed a lot for me since I moved to Abu Dhabi and started my own shoe-repair business.”

Azad Bahadur Khan with his son Abdul Quddus at their shop on Electra Street in Abu Dhabi.

“I had no home, vehicle or business back home in Pakistan. It was beyond my imagination to even think of owning a car. But destiny had decided something else for me.

Now, back home I have a Toyota sedan car, a pickup truck and a newly-built home,” Bahadur Khan said who has nine children — five daughters and four sons aged between two and 22.

“My elder brother, who runs a shoe-repair shop in Madinat Zayed, sent me a visit visa 15 years back. He taught me to mend the shoes and supported me to open this shop,” he said.

He mends people’s shoes here and thanks to this job, back home his children get good education and health care.

“Any profession is not bad and my profession is a bread and butter for me,” Bahadur Khan said.

Poverty back home didn’t allow Bahadur Khan to continue his schooling after Grade 4 but he supports his children to get education.

“Things started changing when I came to Abu Dhabi. Now my children go to school. This profession helped me to live a happy life, he said.

“Despite the fact that my earning is limited but I’m happy and thankful to Allah,” Bahadur Khan said.

Bahadur Khan not only mends and polishes old shoes, he also sells new shoes and sandals, which he brings from Dubai. Most of his customers are South Asians.

Bahadur Khan pays an annual rent of Dh35,000 for this tiny shop. More than a dozen customers visit his shop daily, while the number increases during the weekends.

“Due to increase in cost of living, people now prefer to get their old shoes repaired rather than buying new one. Bahadur Khan charges a very nominal amount for his work like Dh2 for stitching a shoe.

He says the UAE has provided him a great opportunity to work and run his business.

His 22-year-old son, Abdul Quddus also works with him in the same shop. Bahadur Khan brought him to Abu Dhabi some two years back and taught him his profession to carry forward the business.

“My father taught me to mend the shoes and I feel fortunate that I am supporting my baba in his business,” said Abdul Quddus.

“When my father mends shoes I watch him closely and I have learnt this profession now,” he said.

Abdul Quddus knows how to read, write and recite Quran, which he learnt at an Islamic school in Pakistan but did attend any formal school back home.

Located opposite Anarkali Plaza on Elektra Street, Abdul Quddus works at his father’s shop from 8am to 10pm, with a couple of hours of rest in the afternoon.