My mother is my everything

Name: Imtiaz Ahmed

Occupation: Security Services

“We are from a middle class family in Chitral, Pakistan. My father is a very hardworking man. He worked at a petrol pump in Pakistan for 18 years and the only time he took 6 days off was when he fractured his hand. He made sure my siblings and I went to a good school, even though the fees was high. When I was in class 8, he bought a car and decided to start his own business ferrying people around. I was never interested in school. The moment I saw the car, I decided I want to work with my father because I hated studying. Initially, no one in my family agreed. I cried for days, stopped eating, did everything to convince them. It went to a point when I told them that if they forced me to go to school, I would deliberately fail. My father gave in. He was about to agree to my terms when my mother put her foot down. She said there’s no way you will not go to school. I tried the same tactics with her – stopped eating, sulked, cried, fought. But my mother would just lovingly feed me, she would open my books and keep them in front of me and say “Don’t study, just keep them like this and sit with them”. When I completed schooling, I saw an ad for teachers in a local school and applied for the post. I was asked to come and give a demo. When I entered that class of 35 students just a couple of years younger than me; I cannot begin to tell you the pride I felt. For a few moments, I just stood there and watched them as they showed me so much respect as a teacher. I went back home and when I shared this with my mother she said “Look, with only a high school degree, you have got so much respect. Imagine the possibilities if you study more.” I didn’t take up the school offer. I went back to college and completed my B.Com, and even started working on an MBA degree. In my first semester I scored 72%, but I had this job offer and came to Dubai two years ago. I’m glad I can help my father, but I am sure that I will complete my degree once I go back.

Everything I am today, I owe it my mother’s determination to not let me make a wrong choice and to my father who did everything he could to give us the best.”