At the age of 25, I left India not knowing what was ahead of me.
It was the first time I was going to be living outside of the small town I grew up in.
Thinking about now sending my daughter abroad to study, my wife and I know we can connect with her at any time over the phone or via text but when I first left my family I didn’t have the same luxury. I remember having to write letters, or wait for late in the evenings to use the phone lines as calls were cheaper then.
Coming to a new country without knowing anyone was one of the most adventurous things I’d ever done at the time. I was lucky enough that one of my first friends at work introduced me to his family here in Qatar; people who I still consider my home away from home.
As a young immigrant who was brought up in a single-culture environment, my 24 years in Qatar has filled my life with soo many positive experiences that I know I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Today as I work amongst people that come from over 162 different countries, I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to build a life here in such a diverse cultural environment.
Now as I reflect on half my life spent in this country, I remember coming here looking for a stable income as a young adult. Twenty-four years later I consider Qatar home; I was lucky enough to build a life for myself, my wife and my two girls and make friends who I hope to keep for a lifetime.
By Errol Sequeira
English