Ali and his lofty dreams [Archives:2008/1187/Community]
By: Mofeed Al-Jaad
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There was a humble Yemeni family of two parents with three boys, the eldest of which was Ali.
Ali was active, studying at school in the morning and helping his father on the farm in the afternoon. Ali's parents encouraged him to complete high school and in this regard, they were very helpful to him, to the extent that they gave him everything he needed. In those days, the dream of Ali's parents was to see their son become a truly educated man.
Ali graduated from high school with distinction three years later, but alas, he was unable to pursue his university studies due to a change in his parents' dream. Upon seeing the sons of his cousins, who were immigrants in the United States, return to their village with big cars and plenty of money, Ali's father decided to force him to abandon his studies and go to the U.S. like his cousins.
“My dear son, as you know, I love you dearly and my dream is to see you happy in life. I can't deny that I encouraged you to complete high school, but I now advise you to abandon studying at university and emigrate to America,” he instructed.
“What do you mean, father? Do you want me to leave college after I've spent so many long years getting to this stage?” Ali asked.
“Yes, son, I want you to go America to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars with which you can fulfill both your desires and please your poor family. Just look at your cousins – they left school, went to America and then returned with a lot of dollars, which enabled them to build big houses, buy big cars and marry the girls they loved, whereas you, my dear son, have neither the ability to marry the girl with whom you're in love nor give us at least YR 10,000 for monthly expenses.”
He continued, “Look at your little brothers; I've become too old so that I can't cover their needs and demands. They're even wearing the hand-me-down clothes from your cousins! After Allah, your brothers depend upon you. Despite the fact that you're educated, your cousins despise you because you're poor. Am I right? Is what I've said realistic and logical, my dear son?”
“Yes, father, you're right and I totally agree with you. To prove it, inshallah, I'll go to America next month in order to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars, with which I can build a big house, buy a big car and give you whatever you want,” Ali replied.
A month later, as promised, Ali did indeed travel to the U.S. Once there, Ali adjusted to his new surroundings, becoming familiar with everyone and everything. Because his main purpose was to make money, he worked day and night to amass as much as he could.
After making a large amount, Ali sent his father $150,000 to build him a large house, sending an additional $1,500 monthly for the family's expenses. While Ali sent a lot of money home, he retained a large amount for himself, which he deposited into a bank. Day by day, his bank account increased significantly.
Four years later, Ali became homesick and believed that it was time to return to his parents and marry the girl awaiting his return throughout those long years. Thus, Ali decided to leave the U.S. and return to his homeland.
However, there was one dream he still hadn't fulfilled and that was buying a modern new car, so he immediately sent his father $55,000 to buy him a large modern car. Ali's desire was to be the first driver of his car and drive from the beach to his village.
For this reason, he requested his friend buy the car and park it near the beach until his imminent arrival. Upon arriving at the airport, Ali went straight to the beach where he was so pleased when he saw his beautiful car. Before getting in, he telephoned his family to inform them of his coming and then started off for his village.
As Ali happily drove his car, many beautiful images ran through his mind. He was imagining how he would drive his car proudly in front of his cousins. He also imagined how he'd enjoy every beautiful thing in his village – his big new house, his parents, his brothers, his sweetheart, etc.
Unfortunately, Ali never realized his lofty dreams. While driving fast on the highway, he had a terrible accident that took his life and destroyed his new car and every beautiful thing he had imagined. In the end, Ali died with his dreams, ultimately becoming a victim of money, greed and snobbery.
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