Self-educated Indian becomes a role model

DUABI // Najath Manzil Ahmed Hasan's favourite spot in the city is Dubai Public Library. The building's contents have been his constant companions for many years. While keeping their company, Mr Hasan rose from being a man with barely any schooling to being recognised by his community for his dedication to education.

Mr Hasan took five years to teach himself English while he worked towards an online master of business administration (MBA) degree and doctorate. In that time, he filled several odd jobs - from cashier to toy seller - to make money so he could pay for computer classes. "I didn't even touch a computer key before that," he said. Now thousands of young men look to his journey as an example of how to succeed in life. Mr Hasan was recently honoured for his dedication to education by the Green Voices, Calicut, an organisation of young professionals from Kerala that promotes the environment.

"He is a special character," said Adbul Shukkor, 35, an administrator with a contracting company and the chairman of Green Voices. "This is to show that someone who works in a cafeteria and puts in so many hours can still do the impossible. If he can do it, anyone can. He makes us feel like we can achieve our goals too." Mr Hasan realised early in life that education provided opportunities to move ahead in life. But personal turmoil kept him from it.

His father, TK Hasan Musliyar, was a Muslim scholar in Kerala and taught Islamic studies at the Nadapuram mosque. "My birthplace was renowned for communal and sectarian violence for long time," Mr Hasan said. "Many people lost their lives in riots." After leaving high school, Mr Hasan was forced to find work to support his family after his father fell ill. He started working in grocery stores and as a telephone operator. Then his uncle offered him an opportunity to work in the UAE. He helped Mr Hasan to get a visa to Dubai, and he left behind his ailing father and family.

Mr Hasan, now 40, arrived in Dubai in 1994 to work at a small toy shop in Deira. At that time, he brought one of his favourite possessions - a book that he did not then understand completely. It was the Concise Oxford Dictionary, in English. He carried it for many years and, after many hours in the library, slowly the words on the pages started to come alive. His method was to read Malayalam newspapers, then compare similar reports in the English papers. The dictionary was the key to understanding the meaning of the words.

From the toy store, he went to work at a bakery in Ajman as a cashier in 1999, where he earned Dh2,000 (US$540) a month. Of that, he sent Dh750 home. The rest he used for "my expenses and for books". After two years of spending 12 hours a week in the library, his English was good enough for computer classes. In 2005, he began work on his degree. Mr Hasan saved enough money to start a business with friends. He left the bakery in 2007 and pooled his money with four others to start a canteen in Dubai that serves food to men living here without their families. Their situation is familiar to Mr Hasan, whose wife and four children live in India. The eldest, Abdul Aziz, 14, is mentally challenged. The second son, Abdul Rahim, 10, usually takes his father's advice on education.

"I told him, if you study hard you can also be like me," Mr Hasan said. I give him advice on how to use a computer, and on what to study. He wants to work with computers. So he takes tutorials and works on the computer I bought for the family." When Mr Hasan visits the family once a year, he sticks to his routine and studies into the night at least twice a week. He said his wife did not object. "She is very helpful," he said. "She makes no problems for me when I study at home."

The MBA is his realisation of getting ahead in life while working almost 13 hours a day to make the canteen profitable. He hopes to work in marketing day, preferably switching careers to something that will include the use of information technology and computers. "Normally cafeteria people are looked down upon," he said. "Their prolonged duties for other people's daily needs is considered not to be valuable. But if there is a will, every thing is possible.

"Even cafeteria people think of themselves as people who were condemned to such a job due to their dearth of education. So they submit to their fate. I am able to prove that the fact is on the other side." @Email:sbhattacharya@thenational.ae For more in this series, visit www.thenational.ae/people

1. International Bibliography of Business History by Francis Goodall, Terry Gourvish and Steven Tolliday (eds). 2. Marketing Research: An International Approach by Marcus J. Schmidt and Svend Hollense 3. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare 4. The poetry of Ka'b Ibn Malik. 5. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

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The Kites

Romain Gary

Penguin Modern Classics

Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association

Analysis

Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more

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Europe’s rearming plan

Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THREE

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)

Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai

Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi

Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

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The biog

Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates

Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.

Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.

Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.

Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile

Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran

Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep

Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Tonight's Chat on The National

Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.

Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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