Abdul Khalil with his son Aqil Ahmad.

Abdul Khalil Abdul Sattar, a Pakistani expatriate, has seen the United Arab Emirates become a powerful nation. 

Talking to the Gulf Today, Abdul Khalil said that he was a 13-year-old boy in 1963 when he came to Dubai from Karachi along with his mother.

“We were residing in Karachi as my father was in local police department but after his death, my elder brother Abdul Jabbar, who was an engineer, moved to Dubai in 1958 for better future of the family as he was called by our elder uncle who was already settled here. I had boarded a merchant ship from Karachi with my mother to join my elder brother as he was already settled with a local firm after some small jobs,” he said.

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“We lived in a small house. Life was good,” Khalil said.

Some time later, his whole family reached Dubai. One of his brothers was working in a local printing press and as a 13-year-old young boy, he accompanied him to work in the press to earn and learn. He started as an assistant and stayed in the same press for over 30 years and became a professional printer.

“The United Arab Emirates came into being in 1971. The vision of the leadership was to make the land a powerful nation. And today the UAE is what the leaders had envisioned 50 years ago,” he said.

Khalil has three sons – Aqil Ahmad, Farhan Adeel and Moeed Ahmed – born and brought up in Dubai. Two of his sons are now living in Australia while his elder son Aqil Ahmad lives in Sharjah and is taking care of his parents while working as senior manager-business development in Orient Travel in Dubai.

Recalling his old days in Dubai, Khalil said that in early days there were very few entertainment options for expatriates.

“One of our major entertainment was to visit relatives and friends on holidays or watch Indian film in one of many open-air cinemas,” he said.

Since his retirement after over 30 years of his work in a printing press, Khalil is now enjoying his life with his elder son and family in Sharjah. He admires the progress and prosperity of the country a lot.