Citizen Reporter

Meedo Taha is, among other things, a storyteller based in Dubai. But before making a life in this city, his story went from Lebanon, to London, to Tokyo, to LA and beyond.

Ali Al Shouk was your average working chemist when the invasion of Iraq began in 2003.  It was then that a series of traumatic events and coincidences would begin, eventually leading him to a career in journalism and a place he did not expect to end up.

In between my taxi interviews Ali and I sat down together in Dubai to talk about his amazing experiences that made him who he is today.

Start talking with a taxi driver in the city of gold and chances are you will get to the topics of relationships, marriage, love and family. Many will tell you that all these things are very closely related and extremely important. Their outlooks and philosophies vary, from the very traditional to the free thinkers who would go as far as to defy their family.  Stories vary from charming to frustrating, and from beautiful to deeply sad.

Today on the podcast, Love in a Dubai Taxi, stories and reflections on love from taxi drivers in the UAE.

As luck would have it, one day as I was shopping for postcards, we struck up a conversation in his shop which would eventually lead to this podcast. This is one man’s story, a rare voice of experience, that runs parallel to the story of a nation. One of my favorite voices from Dubai, Mr. KJ Bhatia.

Making a life in Nepal has become more and more difficult over the past 20 years and as a result, hundreds of thousands of Nepalese are now working outside the country and sending money home to family members. They can be found in countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the UAE, and until recently Saudi Arabia. Mr. AJ has tried working in many of these countries but a combination ofhostile politics and racism would eventually land him in Abu Dhabi, a place he doesn’t love, but has come to understand.  At the age of 36 he has arrived at a life altering realization, all these years spent “chasing money”, away from his family and the people he loves, have been wasted. The pursuit of material things has led him to the conclusion that he and many people like him have been focusing on the wrong things in life. What is needed to find true satisfaction and happiness, Mr. AJ explains, “is to either help someone or grow something.”

During this long car ride we talked at length about what humans are doing with this planet and with their lives, and what could be done to improve things, and what we as individuals will do in the coming years in an effort to reach that happy place so many of us wish for.  It’s an example of taxicab wisdom at its best and a great example of why I wanted to do this series in the first place.

A pioneer in both new media and internet outreach, Ali can run down the list of reasons people around the world are coming to this region and he is proud of what his nation has accomplished. At the same time he sees the risks and responsibilities that come with success and wealth, as he talks about the things that concern him in the near future.

While much of my journey has been about taxi drivers and the wisdom they can share about this place and life as a whole, a conversation with Ali Al Saloom provides a rare chance to hear from a citizen of this nation and to learn from his unique experience.

As we drive along the famed Jumeira Beach Road, passing alongside the world famous Burj al Arab, we talk about how he got started as a taxi driver. What his life was like in his home country. And what its like to love a job that so many people, including his own family, label as no good or unacceptable.

Marta’s work represents a growing movement in a city that is more known for its tall skyscrapers and massive shopping malls rather than small, unique neighborhood businesses. The moment I sat down at the communal table in this modest and charming dining room, I knew something worth talking about was going on here. A thought that would be only further reinforced when I tasted the fantastically delicious food.

No it isn’t a taxi story, but it is an interesting part of this big Dubai puzzle that – honestly- few media organizations ever dedicate the time and energy to look at in its entirety. Dubai might be young in terms of history, but it already has many layers, each of which shows us something potentially worth learning from. My original inspiration and my focus is still Taxi Drivers, but what you might notice when you listen to Marta, and I have noticed in and out of the cabs, there is something bigger going on here that interconnects everyone.

* You can also follow Marta on twitter

That is how the conversation starts, the subject of audio in one’s ears is a gateway for me to bring up radio and my passion for recording stories. Mr. X, an Indian gentleman who has been driving in Dubai for over a decade, is amused, “So you record people’s stories, like who?” — Like you — I tell him. Watch, I’ll show you, and to his consternation I’ve got the recorder and microphone out and on before he can say another word. “So I just talk about me? My life? My work?” — Yes I tell him. I want the world to know that there are people inside and around this shiny buildings, that make the city what it is today.

Mr. X considers this idea and lets out a big laugh and licks his lips, “Ok then, let us try it!”