Friday 26 / April / 2024
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Muscat: Abdullah Ali Al Maqhousi, a 68-year-old citizen from the Al Sharqiyah Governorate, talks about the joy felt by Omani expatriates when they heard the news that His Majesty Sultan Qaboos will rule the country, their journey back to the homeland, and the progress the Sultanate has gone through.
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“Whoever tastes the bitterness of expatriation knows the value of the homeland and the grace of settling in your country,” exclaimed Al Maqhousi.
Al Maqhousi was 20 years old and living abroad in 1970 when he heard the news that His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said would take over the country’s reins. He remembers the event and how happy he was as if it was yesterday.
“During the Renaissance, I was working in Kuwait, and we received the news that Sultan Qaboos was going to rule over the Sultanate through the BBC and Sharjah Radio,” he said.
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“We were very pleased with the news, and we gathered around 15 Omani workers in Kuwait at a house in Khitan village to listen to the first speech of His Majesty the Sultan,” he added. “When the speech was over, we held a celebration to express our joy.” Omani expats in Kuwait were used to gathering from time to time, and in these meetings, they shared news about their relatives and conditions in the Sultanate.
“One day, an Omani trader told us that on his trip to sell dates to Dhofar, he heard from people at the port that a new Sultan would rule Oman,” recalled Al Maqhousi.
“The trader said we would receive the official news soon. After four months, the speech of His Majesty was broadcast and what the man told us would happen, actually did.”
“Everyone rejoiced at the news, as people were in dire need of a leader like His Majesty Sultan Qaboos,” he remarked. “God grant him long life.” After the speech, the Oman government asked people to draw a model of the flag they wanted the Sultanate to use.
“Al Maqhousi tried to submit an entry, but when he went to the embassy they told him the Sultanate’s new flag had already been
revealed.
“Not that he minded at all. We were all enthusiastic and happy with the new Sultan,” he said.
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“I was so happy and proud to see the new flag of the Sultanate being raised with Omani youth in Kuwait at the opening ceremony of the Gulf Cup that was held in Kuwait.”
From 1970 to 1972, Al Maqhousi continued to work in Kuwait, regularly sending money to his family in Oman through travellers.
“I stayed in Kuwait for almost a year and a half, after which I returned to the Sultanate in 1972,” he said. The journey back then took some 14 days by ship from Kuwait to Oman.
“The situations and risks that we faced on the sea trip are too long to talk about but we overcame them because we were so happy to return home,” explained Al Maqhousi.
“We arrived through Ashkharah Beach in the Wilayat of Jalan Bani Bu Ali.”
“From that day on, I settled in the Sultanate and got married in 1973,” he added.
“In February 1974, I joined the police. The availability of jobs was the main reason that helped me and others settle in the Sultanate from that time until today, and we are now helping to build our country.”
Al Maqhousi said the quality of life in Oman has improved drastically over the years. “I have been working with the police for 27 years, and during those years we have witnessed a radical change in services and in the quality of life in the Sultanate,” he said.
“In the early years of the Renaissance, there was a great responsibility on the part of the police and the army to maintain security in the country and provide people in different parts of the Sultanate with food and medical services via helicopters. Everyone in Oman was happy with this national unity and provided assistance to each other.”
“Our life has become easier,” he added. “In the past, I would spend around 10 hours travelling from Muscat to my village in South Al Sharqiyah, but now it only takes us 3 to 4 hours.”
“Oman has given us more than what we expect, and now we live in safety, peace, and grace in our Oman,” said Al Maqhousi.
