Omar’s way

After writing about the woman who was sentenced to be lashed in Saudi and having brought the name of my friend Omar to the story several times, I thought the fairest thing is to introduce him to everyone who have read the previous post and felt some kind of curiosity about him.

Omar is a 27 year old man originally from Saudi Arabia, Muslim, stubborn, and yet extremely kind who I met in Auckland the first week I got here.  He obtained his manager degree from the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah Saudi Arabia in year 2009. He has a vast experience in the working world of whom he feel very proud since he says he’s worked even in jobs any Saudi Arabic would ever do, such as sales man (that sort of jobs are assigned for foreigners. Usually Saudi citizens hold important positions in companies).

The companies list he’s worked for goes from Body Shop until SISCO, in which he worked as Coordinator of Support Services.

As I’ve already written before, he is a very rooted Muslim brought up in a particular environment. His parents got divorced when he was only eight months, which is very oddly in a Muslim culture. Family is the core hub for Muslim religion because it is fundamental for the security and peace it’s granted to the members of it; family is a great valued unit which is thought to be the responsible of the social order.

Owing to the events that any Muslim divorce brought with it, Omar was forced to live with his grandparents but very close to his father, who got married two years after his divorce.  The fact of being far away of his mother, made Omar have a very irregular childhood and I think sometimes a bit traumatic.

In our used conversations sometimes he makes very obvious the print and pain all those events have left on his life. He also tell me very amusing stories about how when he was 17 years he ran away from his father, due to his parent strictness and prohibitions of seeing his mother  and started living with his others grandparents.  Omar has been living with them since then. But a year and a half ago he decided to come to Auckland, New Zealand to study English so as to have the necessary level to access to university. If he reaches 6.5 IELTS score needed for it, he will soon start studying what makes him feel a great passion besides football: A master in management.

He describes himself as the perfect blend between the rigorous religious people and modern people’s thoughts.

Omar is sick about planning and he doesn’t move one of his hairs without planning it before, he’s also very smart and as incredible as it could be he is to some extend open minded compared with some people of his same nationality and strong convictions.

He has a characteristic I like the most on him, he reach what he wants; maybe that’s the reason why in spite of our differences, we have got very well with each other. I think it’s an admirable attribute in a person and whose holders deserve great attention.

He also speaks out. I don’t know how he does it but he can speak for hours and hours without stopping. This especial feature of his personality has made Omar a very sociable person, because people find it nice the fact that he’s always smiling and trying to make you laugh.

We have spent hours and days talking about as many different subjects as you can imagine, from cultural differences until political or economical issues, it’s Omar’s fault I’m in love of middle east culture and that I’ve broaden my view to a world unknown for me in the past.

I could say I’m to some extend a better person due to his teaching and long hours of nagging. And I’ll remember forever his Muslim way.