Photos by Sneha Gyawali/The Gazelle

“You from where?” “You don’t look like Nepali.” “You know Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan?”

Walking into the fish market at Mina Port in Abu Dhabi is a sensory experience. There are long aisles full of exotic, colorful fish, their overwhelming smell filling the air, competing with the seller’s anticipation and chattering voices. As we made our way through the hustle and bustle of this market, we were bombarded with greetings from eager fish sellers; it was 9 a.m. and they were hoping we would be one of their first customers of the day. However, when they realized we were not there to buy any fish, their enthusiastic marketing transformed into burning curiosity. We became two fish in a sea of questions, but we also had our own. What does it mean to be a fish seller in Abu Dhabi – a city glittering with mosques and malls?

 

Although reluctant at first, Parapurat opened up with a few details of his life as the conversation progressed.

“I’ve been working in the fish market for twenty years and have been going to back to Kerala once a year these past few years,” he said as he chopped up some shrimp on the table.

“The work here meets my needs. I did some electrical work before. But now that I’m able to make ends meet from the fish market, I know it is the better job for me. I’ve been doing this for the past two decades, and things have been well.”

“Are you taking photos or videos? Should I pose?” called Shafi from the stall next to us.

He seemed excited to talk, and seemed to have prepared his answers before we arrived at this stall.

“I’ve been working here for the past four years. I used to work in Japan before this, and that was for almost five years,” he said.

“I went to Japan in 1997 and then spent a few years back home in India before coming to Sharjah. India is India –– it is where my family lives and where home is, but there isn’t work for me there. I like the work here because many people come to the fish market and there is always a nice conversation going on. I’m a naukery-walla [the breadwinner] and my family relies on the salary I make here.”

While many fish sellers kept calling us toward their stall, Jinnah remained quiet and looked in our direction. The look on his face concealed various emotions and we wanted to know how he ended up working in the fish market. It was after an exchange of greetings that he began to open up about about his life.

“I no longer like working in the Fish Market, although I’ve been working here for fifteen years,” said Jinnah. “The business was flourishing before but now I hope to go somewhere else.”

He was quick to add that he is happy to have worked here for the past decade and a half. But his family is back in Sri Lanka and he can only visit them once every one or two years.

“I really miss them,” he added.

“I came to this city in 1992, I’m sure you weren’t even born then!” exclaimed Ashraf with a wide smile.

Ashraf said that the first time he left his home in Kerala, India, was when he came to work at the World Trade Center in Dubai. After almost ten years of working there, Ashraf shuffled between several jobs before moving to Saudi Arabia for five years.

“It’s been three years since I’ve come back. Working at the fish market has been good so far, and I like it here because it’s my passion. I catch some of the fish myself,” he said.

Most of the fish at the market is imported from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Oman and Dubai, so it is an honor to have some of his own catch on sale.

“The contract is not a problem at all and it just has to be renewed like any other business. My family is back home in India and I spend six months in Kerala and six months working here.”

Ashraf also mentioned that not all the sellers get to do that, so he feels very lucky.

“The time spent at home is the only reason I do not want to leave my work here ever,” he added, with another wide smile settling in.

He was one of the most talkative people at the fish market, and even sent a few other sellers to persuade us to interview him. We were delighted with his enthusiasm.

“The work here isn’t very profitable because not many people come here anymore except for Fridays,” he said.

“Just look around, there aren’t many people. The fish comes from India and Pakistan too. Come, I’ll show you the ones from Pakistan. Do you want to hold them?”

He used to work in Hamdan Centre, but he prefers the work at the fish market. “It’s good work even though I don’t make much money anymore. I spend four months in Kerala every year, what about you?” said Faisal.

Faisal asked us about our life in Abu Dhabi and when he found out that we lived away from home, he wanted to know if we missed our families.

“I really do. Go home when you get holidays – spending time with family is important,” he said.