He has learnt to face problems with patience and prayers. Abul Salam Jankeez, a 60-year-old Turkish man married with three children, said problems inflict him one after the other. “I am jobless. I have to pay the rent of my house. Last time, my owner waited for two years before I could pay the rent. I have to send money to my sons in Turkey. I also paid for my Iqama and labor office card renewal,” he said. He said Saudis who visit him, help him financially. Jankeez had come to the Kingdom in 1981, and worked in a construction company in Jeddah. “I worked in a car repair shop in Taif, then as a storekeeper, and finally as a hospital worker,” he said. Jankeez had to leave his storekeeper job to look after his son who met with an accident. “My 22-year-old son Ibrahim had a severe road accident seven years back. His car turned over when it was hit by another car. He was admitted at the King Faisal Hospital in Taif and then we transferred him to Al-Hada Military Hospital. He was affected with polytrauma,” he said. Jankeez said Ibrahim underwent more than 10 major operations on his legs, knees, ankles and feet. “He still limps,” he added. Ibrahim is now studying in an Islamic college in Turkey, and has memorized the Holy Qur'an, he said. Omar, his 20-year-old younger son is in the Turkish army. “He is defending his country against terrorism. His mother prays day and night for him as he is in the dangerous border areas facing Iraq,” he said. Six months back Jankeez met with an accident when he was returning from Makkah. “My colleague told me that I was terminated from work. I lost consciousness because of high-blood pressure; my car hit the tree and was smashed completely,” he said. His wife earns SR1,000 as a school-keeper. “We send this money to our son Ibrahim,” Jankeez said. He said his wife suffers from chronic abdominal pain, feet pain and needs dental prosthetic. Jankeez said the Turkish community in Taif gets together on weekends. “We go to parks and enjoy eating, playing and sight seeing,” he said. “Although our income is not large, we help each other in whatever way we can,” he said. He said he wanted to visit his country for his treatment. “I want to stay in Turkey for a while for the treatment of rheumatism arthritis and a retinal occlusion in my left eye,” he said. “I don't want to leave the Kingdom because I like to remain near the two holy cities of Makkah and Madina,” he said. __
