How many times do I take things for granted that are a surpassing dream to the man I pass by on the street? A repeated encounter in a coffee shop in Wadi Saqra made me realize that my origin from a wealthy Western country already opens more doors for me than many people in the Middle East can ever enter.

Since some days I have come into a routine of stopping by at this coffee place after work. It started more unintended than voluntarily. The bus drivers made me accept the fact that there is no change when you pay for a ride. Therefore, even though the ride home is supposed to be very cheap, you can easily pay double prize if you don’t hand out exactly the coins needed.

Recognizing my need to get some change money before heading home, I stopped by at the already mentioned coffee place to get metal for my paper.

Unsurprisingly, the guy reacted very welcoming and the planned quick money change turned out to end in a half an hour stay at the place.

Hot served Arabic coffee reminded me again of the hospitality I appreciate so much whenever I get a chance to be in the Middle East.

This first visit shouldn’t be the last one and just as I expected, the next day there was no way of passing by without stopping again.

Muhammad (name changed) is of Palestinian origin although he was born in Jordan and spent all his life there. Although his passport identity is Jordanian, he introduced himself as a Palestinian and like almost all of the ones being in the same situation as him he has a strong desire to go back to his roots.

Even more than that, he kept telling me that I should take him back to Germany with me, a dream that seems impossible to become true. Some days later I felt comfortable enough to satisfy my curiosity about conditions of employment in a regular little shop of Jordan. To my surprise Muhammad works twelve hours a day, seven days a week. Being used to hear people in Germany complain about the 40 hour week they have, made me sad. I tried to not let the 25 year old Muhammad recognize how shocked I was when he revealed his salary to me. My question concerning his hourly wage couldn’t be answered; instead he is being paid 200 JD a month.

Calculated down, he earns around half a Dinar an hour, working from 8am to 8pm and no matter if it is a regular day or a holiday.

I remembered how as a pupil I used to distribute newspapers in my village for a pay of 10€ while it took me less than an hour to finish the task.

I began to understand how little the hope is that most people have here. With his wage he would probably not even be able to live on his own, not talking about supporting a family. Probably that’s why he also still lives with his parents. On the other hand, I also imagine it to be a very difficult task to get to know a possible spouse when one is working 84 hours a week.

“Do you want to drink something?”  – His question shook me out of my thoughts. With a big smile on his face he prepared a cup of tea for me and convinced me to sit down after I told him four times that I sat in the office all day long and don’t mind standing.

At home I’m just a simple student, getting governmental support in order to be able to study and live –  whereas already the fact that I travelled here makes me rich in the eyes of Muhammad. There is not much to explain since in the end I do not have to worry much about how to make a living.

Nevertheless Muhammad’s eyes laughed at me whenever they met mine.

After all, joy is not connected to money. Being thankful for what we are blessed with is what’s important. Additionally, we ought not to close our eyes from the needs of people around us. An encouraging smile, time spent with them or a listening ear can make a change already.