Khalid travelling the world

Mujahid Khalid believes one needs an open mind to visit the Middle East. (SAT)

By Natasha Beckles | Sun, July 17, 2011 - 12:00 AM

MUJAHID KHALID is living proof that you can find a Bajan anywhere in the world.

He has been based in Qatar for the past three years but this is just one of the places he has lived and worked.

On a recent visit to Barbados, the English-born Khalid explained to the SUNDAY SUN how his academic and professional success led him to live in the Middle East.

He recalled that he returned to Britain after completing his studies at Harrison College in 1989.

Following studies in engineering at Cambridge University and Imperial College, he stayed in Britain to work in the oil, gas and construction industries.

“In the UK right now construction and engineering is not a growth area so I felt that to move on, I needed to get out from the technical aspect of the work and more into the managerial and commercial aspect,” he said, explaining that he therefore went on to do an MBA.

This led the 40-year-old Muslim to join Bechtel, a United States-based company and one of the leading construction and engineering firms in the world.

“I’ve just been moving around with the company and to wherever the projects are. Right now we’re building a new airport in Doha, Qatar, so I’m one of the commercial managers there,” he said.

Khalid noted that the move to Qatar was not a major culture shock.

“Because of my background being a Muslim and so on, it wasn’t particularly difficult. Plus I lived in Saudi Arabia for two years previous to that,” he said, adding that his wife was Palestinian.

He acknowledged that “for a lot of people coming from the West it’s a different culture completely”, but noted he was very open to exploring new countries and cultures.

“I’ve been to Azerbaijan, the Far East, Singapore, Scotland, Europe . . . ,” he listed.

The Barbados Scholar said a lot of people from the West were apprehensive about going to the Middle East but in his view, “it’s probably the best place to bring up a family”.

Khalid stressed one had to go to the Middle East with an open mind.

“If you go there with a closed mind everything you see just reinforces it. I wouldn’t say there are no restrictions. There are, but it’s about being open-minded, understanding the local community and just enjoying it.”

Among these restrictions were the public use of alcohol, the standard of dress and open proselytizing.

“In most of the Middle East people tend to respect other people, Christians especially, who also hold on to their religion. The attitude is different from country to country . . . but what probably isn’t acceptable is openly proselytizing,” Khalid added.

He noted that Qatari people, with the exception of the expatriate community from Britain and United States, were not very aware of the Caribbean. Like many Barbadians living overseas, Khalid has had to educate people about the Caribbean.

“I spend most of my time first explaining where the Caribbean is, that it’s a chain of islands between South America and North America. So then they say, ‘Okay, it’s Jamaica’. I tell them Jamaica is only one of them.

Having travelled so widely, one may wonder if Khalid would ever make Barbados his home again.

“Initially I was looking to come back to Barbados. I’m still looking at that but it just hasn’t worked out yet. Right now I’m looking at investments in property and things like that and also just keeping a relationship with people here,” he said.