
A wrong choice turned a dream into a nightmare
Ambition is a strong motivator that propels us to become the best versions of ourselves and accomplish our objectives. On the other hand, the success it produces can turn into an obsession that may lead to self-destruction. Nobody understands this more than Chris. A mere six months into his contract, his aspirations overcame him, and he decided to quit. He would later regret his choice.
Chris’ biggest driving force to resign from his job was a friend, Jeremiah, whose job he had always admired. It was an office job with a travel and shipping company that he had heard so many favourable things about. He wanted to upgrade from being a cleaner to working in an office and sitting in front of a computer like corporate people do, without forgetting the benefits that come with a white-collar job. Besides, with the new job, he would have the chance of earning five times more than he was earning.
Jeremiah had told him that the job was mostly based on commissions, with a basic pay of 700 dirhams. But in a good month, you could make up to 5000 dirhams or even more. For every client you bring in or deal you make on behalf of the company, you get a certain percentage. This sounded easy to him and he couldn’t wait to join the company and start working.
Being smart, he aced the interview and was subsequently employed. On his first day, he posted on all his social media platforms advertising his work with people responding very positively, which encouraged him. He also called the travel company in Kampala he used for his trip to Dubai and offered them favourable deals. Coincidentally, this was the same time I had applied for my travels with that very company. My travel companion Sylvia and I were his first clients. (In the article “my diaspora story,” he is the young man that picked us up from the airport and oriented us through the new city).
The struggle
His first month passed without any clients contrary to his expectations. He did not even make a commission worth 500 dirhams yet his colleagues were making sales. This inspired him to press on as he believed he would harvest the fruits of his diligent work after growing his market. After four months of trying, things were still not working out very well for him. Marketing was not one of his strong suits.
I used to see him put in his all, even more than Jeremiah. He would make countless calls throughout the day while posting and sending messages at night to potential customers. We would occasionally visit their workplace. You could see that even when he had no clients, he was very active and receptive and would assist his colleagues with their clients. Despite all his efforts, at the end of the day, all his employer wanted was a positive sales result. It was easy for him to get fired for underperformance without warning because he was not working on the company’s employment visa yet. His boss couldn’t continue paying him every month yet he wasn’t bringing any business to the company.
He lost his job and was forced back to the drawing board. The job search struggle is never easy but he was lucky enough to get another job within a month. He would work as a waiter in a restaurant for a salary of 3800 dirhams, including tips. He successfully passed the job interview and trials and was equally thrilled with the workplace environment and the friendliness of the staff. He was asked to forward a copy of his passport to check his visa status. This was so the human resource manager could send his contract documents to be able to start working.
Absconding duty
Over the next two days, Chris could not take his eyes off his phone as he waited for an email to arrive with his offer. He finally got the email but to his surprise, it informed him that they were unable to hire him at the moment. He, apparently, had absconded from his first company, which meant that he had to compensate them for the time he had not worked for them. They had paid 8000 dirhams for his two-year visa yet he had only worked for three months which was worth 1000 dirhams.
So, they wanted him to compensate them for 7000 dirhams. This was a big blow for him because at this point he wasn’t in a suitable financial position to do it. Which is why he badly needed a fresh start. It had seemed like the light at the end of his dark tunnel but now it couldn’t take him in unless he cleared his fine within two weeks.
For the first time, he considered the fact that his aunt might have been right in her warnings. Even though many people have made it by working abroad, this may not have been his method of breaking through and escaping poverty. He thought of calling his aunt and telling her what was going on but became reluctant. He had already stressed her enough. He tried to borrow from his friends so as not to lose his job but none could bail him out. He tried everyone he knew (except his aunt) until the deadline he was given to secure the job expired.
The third and final chapter of Chris’ story is an example of “never give up.” He had to suffer and struggle through huddles in his attempt to get back on his feet. His smarts and resilience prevented him from letting the song of defeat dominate his thoughts more than the song of hope.
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