Iftar on the job: My throat is dry but I serve people with a smile

Muhammad Shafi is a cashier at an exchange house in Abu Dhabi. His job is demanding, but thanks to a shift rotation system, he gets to end his fast at his accommodation on some days.
"Our exchange house has staff members of different nationalities. This is done to cater to customers of all nationalities. This also means we have a rotation system in place so that a number of staff members work together in a shift. I may be on morning shift one day to be followed with afternoon or evening. This is a routine schedule, but it works well for me during the month of Ramadan when I have a mix of Iftar options - at my workplace, at a mosque or back in my room," said the cashier at a UAE Exchange branch.
"When I am at the branch, I get 30-35 minutes of break for Iftar. The centre makes all the arrangements for our food. I break my fast with my colleagues, then go to the mosque and return to work. During off-duty hours, I visit a nearby mosque for Iftar. At times, my friends and I cook up Iftar dishes in our room," he said.
Shafi said his job gets tougher during Ramadan as the number of customers increase closer to Eid, when more people send money back home for family celebrations. "You see, being a cashier is an unrecognised job. We handle cash for six to eight hours at a stretch. We can't make a mistake, even for a moment. It is a meticulous job as we have to check and update currency rates and handle phone calls, too.
"I have to talk to at least 100 customers a day on the counter. It gets tough during Ramadan as my throat runs dry. However, I do it with a smile," Shafi added.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

• Ramadan 2021