Sunday 7 July 2013

Humaid - The Beginning

Humaid comes from a very strict bedouin tribe, his family held on to the true traditions and values of the past. They believe in order to be respected one has to stick to his culture; as they see the more modern Emirati's ase a disgrace to the community. He has 5 sisters and 2 brothers, he is the sixth child in the house.

Growing up, Humaid constantly heard of what is not acceptable to do in the society. For instance, it was a disgrace to the family if one of the boys were seen in jeans; thus after reaching teen-hood Humaid never got to wear his jeans or shorts ever again, fearing that he would embarrass his family. It was also not accepted for boys to be watching western movies or following their trends, that is where Humaid was the outcast from the family.

His father has his own traditional business selling dates and camel milk, which is all from his 'factory' the family farm which he got from his grandfather. The business over the years grew and started expanding, and the family came to obtain a huge amount of profits. When Humaid was in primary school his  family moved from the farm to a villa in one of Abu Dhabi's neighborhoods, which somehow modernized the way he perceived things. 

Humaid's family had high hopes that he would be a policeman or join the army, even though they never asked him if he wanted to join the police academy. Humaid spent all his life in an all boys public school, he never got the opportunity to mingle with the females in the society and was usually segregated. During his high school years he was not the regular public school student, he was more exposed to the western media; even though watching it in his house was considered a taboo. When he got his own laptop, he felt as if the world was his oyster. He started getting to know all the foreign singers, watched western movies, started following the latest gossip. All the following excited him, but when he unlocked his room he had to act as if he loved football, motorcycling in the desert, fishing in the ocean, as according to his family that is what makes a true man. 

As the family was restricted and had their own values, they constantly put a watch on Humaid as they felt that he was drifting away from them. However, as a male he was able to deceive them by living two lives; the life he loves, and the life his family wants. The main problem was that till when will Humaid be able to live with two identities; that all changed when he dropped out of the Police Academy and decided to go to a private university.




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