citizenreporter.org
A Decade of Driving in Dubai
The Dubai Taxi Project Mr. X seemed a bit miserable and quiet when I threw myself into his front seat. He seemed to be talking to himself somewhat and I slowly removed the soundless headphones from my ears. "Were you listening to something very closely, like your music? - I though you were. Maybe it is just habit?" I look over at the brown skinned smiling gentleman in his 60's with streaks of silver in his dark sideburns. - You're absolutely correct, it is a bad habit of mine.That is how the conversation starts, the subject of audio in one's ears is a gateway for me to bring up radio and my passion for recording stories. Mr. X, an Indian gentleman who has been driving in Dubai for over a decade, is amused, "So you record people's stories, like who?" -- Like you -- I tell him. Watch, I'll show you, and to his consternation I've got the recorder and microphone out and on before he can say another word. "So I just talk about me? My life? My work?" -- Yes I tell him. I want the world to know that there are people inside and around this shiny buildings, that make the city what it is today.Mr. X considers this idea and lets out a big laugh and licks his lips, "Ok then, let us try it!"