Omanis are some of the kindest people we’ve met

More sports Wednesday 25/July/2018 19:11 PM
By: Times News Service
Omanis are some of the kindest people we’ve met

#ReadersResponse: With the summer holidays currently underway, many citizens, residents, and tourists are currently travelling across the Sultanate. Those who have travelled within the nation and have sometimes run into a spot of bother have, however, experienced firsthand the helpful nature of Omanis.
Ramanuj Venkatesh was recently travelling back from Oman’s northern governorate of Musandam through the UAE and back into the mainland.
“I was driving into Fujairah from Musandam with the intention of travelling back to the Khatmat Malaha border crossing, and I didn’t know how to get to the crossing,” he recalled. “I came across an Omani gentleman standing outside a filling station in the Omani town of Dibba and I asked him for the location of the border check post.”
“Not only did he draw a map of the route to the border, he also asked me to follow him in his four-wheel drive and went with me all the way to the border post,” added Venkatesh. “I was so pleasantly surprised to see this Omani gentleman helping me, and I still remember it to this day.”
Anand Vijay, another expat who lived in Muscat, was on his way back from Dubai when he couldn’t find the border crossing in Hatta. An Omani gentleman, who was on his way from Muscat to Dubai, helped him out.
“My family and I were driving back from Dubai to Muscat, and we couldn’t find the Hatta border crossing,” he told the Times of Oman. “It was early evening and we had been driving around for four hours, but it was getting dark. I was quite worried because it was turning to night and we needed to get back, because there was nowhere to stop for the night and I had to work the next day.”
“Suddenly, I saw a car with Oman licence plates and flashed him,” he added. “He stopped and I told him what the problem was, and without the slightest hesitation, he asked me to follow him and took me all the way back to the border, which was a good 90-minute drive. Of all the Arab nations that I had been to, no country has such helpful people as the Omanis.”
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Shaun Brecher, a South African expat in Dubai who was visiting Oman, also had a fond story to share.
“It was 44 degrees outside and there was nothing but desert and mountains around me,” he said. “The worst then happened. My car seized up with no fuel. I was now stuck in the middle of nowhere. Left with no choice, I hitchhiked for help. A small Toyota pulled over and out came the life saver, Mr. Yayha. He not only stopped but got out of his car to greet me.”
“After telling my story to Yahya, who was on his way to his family for the weekend, he insisted he would assist me in getting petrol, knowing very well we were at least 50km away from a petrol station,” added Brecher. “He drove me there and then drove me all the way back. I thought his role was over now as he had done more than I could have ever asked for. Not only did this local Omani man get out of his car and put the fuel in for me, he then insisted on guiding me back all the way to Sohar for me to find my way home.”
“He then messaged me a few hours later to make sure I was home safe,” he explained. “This man is the epitome of genuine kindness, and his actions have made him a role model not only for me but for all Omanis, as this man has shown all of us how to behave and what the Omani people really are like — kind, hospitable, genuine, and willing to help even when they have absolutely no obligation to.”
Hamda Al Busaidi, an Omani national, explained why people in the Sultanate have a naturally helpful nature.
“It has nothing to do with our religion or anything, but it is because we know the importance of hard work and we have not let the money get to our heads,” she said. “Oman has had a long history of dealing with immigrants and people from other countries and that is why we have this culture of helping others.”