In 2003, when Saji Cherian a small-time restaurateur boarded a train from Kayamkulam to Mumbai, the terrorising visuals of the underworld he has learnt from movies, stories and newspaper clippings flashed in his mind. The 34-year-old was headed to the land of riches, the UAE, where, he hoped to find A livelihood to support his family. Now, 15 years later, with a satisfied gleam in his eyes, he inspects the corridors and interiors of the Mosque of Mariam Umm Eisa. This Orthodox Christian expat has built this huge place of worship at Al Hayl industrial complex in Fujairah spending 1.3 million dirhams (around Rs 2.5 crore).
“This is my Ramzan gift to my emirate,” says Saji, who has built the mosque at the 30-acre industrial complex he runs on the land he took on lease five years ago. His complex, with an 800-room labour camp, houses 4,500 expats who work for 53 companies. Reliving the rags-to-riches tale, Saji reveals that he still remembers every single detail of the day he landed in Fujairah on a visit visa – the huge airport where airplanes were parked like ‘autorickshaws’, the 10 thousand-rupee notes that were converted into 630 dirhams, the confusion, the dry and rough terrain of Fujairah he saw through the bus window, the last stop where he met a Malayali at a restaurant named Delhi Durbar and the newfound shelter at his place. “For three months, I couldn't find a job and I returned home. But I didn't want to give up. I came back, but this time, on a job visa with a construction firm,” the 49-year-old says.
With hard work and loyalty, Saji moved up the ladder and in 2006, started his own construction material supply business with two partners and two employees. In six years, he had a 140 employee-strong firm and 98 semi-trailer trailer trucks shuttling between construction sites. But in mid-2013, an unexpected setback happened when 446 cheques worth 16 million dirhams bounced. Saji explains, "It was a miscalculation as my business was based on trust. I could have fled; but I didn’t want to live as a fraudster. Our dad was a road contractor. He had suffered loss in business several times and each time, he worked hard and made profits. It was his blood in my veins and I too could do it.”
The Mosque of Mariam Umm Eisa awaiting inauguration.
He purchased materials on instalment basis and took a land on lease where he completed the construction of a 100-room labour camp in 90 days. Happy about the results, the client paid him 1.1 million dirhams as the annual rent on the 90th day. In the years that followed, Saji developed the complex, which now houses a labour camp, convention centre, supermarket, salon, laundry service and the latest addition, the mosque that can accommodate 250 persons at a time. Why a mosque? “The labourers in the camp have to spend 20 dirhams to take a taxi to attend the Juma prayers at the nearest mosque. Being someone who has known the value of every single rupee, I know how expensive 20 dirhams is for an expat,” he reasons. And then, there's another reason too.
“In war-torn Iraq and Syria, so many children were murdered and many monuments were destroyed. It's my dream to see this mosque emerging as a monument of religious harmony,” he says. His endeavours have the wholehearted support of the Fujairah Awqaf officials. “They are very excited that a Christian is taking the initiative to build a mosque. They ensured hassle-free services for power, water facilities. Many came forward offering monetary assistance, but I declined. I want to do this as an offering – to the land that gave me everything,” confesses Saji, who has earlier built a church St Gregorios Syrian Orthodox Church at Dibba Al-Fujairah. “I believe in the power of prayer. At a land far away from homeland, where people toil hard to make ends meet and to provide a better life to their family back home, a calm prayer space is very important. You need to be an expat to experience that,” he says.
Saji Cherian, Elsy, Sachin and Elvin.
On June 1, the Mosque of Mariam Umm Eisa will open its doors before the public with an Iftar meet. “The essence of all these acts is harmony. Hailing from a place like Kayamkulam, where everyone lives amiably celebrating all religious festivals together, I have never differentiated people based on religion, caste or creed,” he adds. People have approached him requesting to build a temple in Fujairah next. He has promised to do it, if he can. “I can do all these because of the support of my family, especially my wife Elsy, who has stood beside me through thick and thin. She decided to be a part of my life when I was nobody and through all ups and downs, she stood with me like a rock. My greatest victory is her love,” says Saji, who has two sons - Sachin and Elvin. “Fujairah is my land,” he says, adding, “So is Kayamkulam.” Asked where he'd prefer to spend his life after retirement, Saji laughs, saying, “Both.”
