Dubai worker honoured after missing daughter's birth to help with Covid-19 disinfection drive

A municipality worker in Dubai missed the birth of his daughter to remain in the emirate and help fight against Covid-19.

On April 24 last year, Mosharraf Sahid, 38, was in the middle of a 16-hour shift, disinfecting roads in Jumeirah.

Thousands of kilometres away, in a small village in his home country of Bangladesh, his wife was in labour with their third child.

“I knew before then that I would miss the birth of my child back home in our village of Cumilla in southern Bangladesh, but I realised that sterilisation was an important task and my role was essential,” said Mr Sahid.

“I had been on the cleaning team since March, when my directors asked me to be part of the task force to protect Dubai from the global outbreak. The work was long and relentless, but I was honoured to be part of the front-line team disinfecting the city. Dubai needed me and I was committed to the job.”

Mr Sahid spent the day of the birth praying for his wife. He could not speak to her until he returned to his accommodation later that night.

“My heart was full of joy when I spoke to her and the rest of the family as they told me that my wife and daughter were healthy and doing well,” he said.

“I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face knowing that I had a new baby at home and that I was in Dubai fighting the pandemic at the same time. What an honour it was.”

Mr Sahid is one of hundreds of front-line volunteers and professionals, who have been recognised and supported by the Frontline Heroes Office for making personal sacrifices in the nation’s battle against the pandemic.

Prior to the outbreak, he worked in the emergency pest control department at the municipality, where he has worked since 2006. He was part of a team that responded to calls from residential areas about potentially dangerous animals.

When the pandemic reached the UAE's shores, Mr Sahid became part of the nationwide disinfection drive. He underwent training that included personal protection against the virus, as well as mixing and applying disinfectant chemicals.

Each shift would begin with donning personal protective equipment, including a mask, gloves, face shield and full suit. The teams then combed each street, while the rest of the city’s residents were indoors during curfew hours. They would travel in vehicles or modified bikes to spray disinfectant chemicals on narrow roads. Sometimes they would use drones.

“It was a tough task, but I kept reminding myself that it was important work, and I owed this country for the opportunities it had given me,” said Mr Sahid.

“So, I kept doing my job day after day and night after night."

His family was worried about him contracting the virus.

"I spoke to them every day and tried to reassure them," he said. "I also took regular PCR tests. I did not contract the virus during my time with the disinfection programme, but one of my colleagues did.”

The most intensive period of work took place during the first peak of the pandemic in April and May, which coincided with Ramadan.

“In addition to the long hours in the rising heat and humidity of Dubai, I was also fasting,” said Mr Sahid. “When sunset came, we would sit together and break our fast with a simple meal, then we continued with our work cleaning the streets."

He was determined to finish the job to the best of his abilities, he said.

"I come from a large family and there are many people who need my support. Back in Bangladesh, I have seven brothers and two sisters.”

Mr Sahid said he desperately missed his family and yearned to see his daughter for the first time but is determined to fulfil his responsibilities and build his family’s future.

“Everyone in the world is facing Covid-19 so we all need to continue the fight until it is over,” he said. “I’m dreaming of the day when I can hold my newborn daughter in my arms, but until then I will do whatever it takes to make a difference.”