A homeless man was hired by one of the UAE's royal families after a social media post about his plight went viral.
Ezzat Anwar slept in mosques and parks for two and a half months after he was scammed by an recruitment firm.
The 29-year-old, who worked in hospitality, arrived from Egypt in January to find the company he was hired to work for did not exist.
Dedra Stevenson, an American Emirati resident, shared Mr Anwar’s story on Facebook, after spotting him sitting on the pavement by a coffee shop in Sharjah almost every day.
Within two days, he was offered a job by Sheikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Mualla, Deputy Ruler of Umm Al Quwain.
"He was by the coffee shop for several days and I kept seeing people walking past him, ignoring him," Ms Stevenson told The National.
“He was obviously very downtrodden. One day I just walked up to him and asked if he was okay and there were tears in his eyes.
“I put the message forward on my social media channels and thankfully, my friend Heba Korayem put him in touch with the royal family. The support has been incredible.”
Speaking to The National, Meera Butti, wife of Sheikh Abdullah, said she wanted to help Mr Anwar after reading the post.
“We made sure his story was real and then we brought him to Umm Al Quwain,” she said.
“We promised him shelter and a month’s salary at first.
"Shortly after, we realised we needed someone to look after my husband’s majlis, such as housekeeping and waiting.
"He told us he has previous experience in this and wants the job. So, if he’s happy with it, we’ll go ahead with all of the legal formalities.”
Mr Anwar said he was thrilled about his new position.
“I had nearly lost hope but God sent me wonderful people,” he said.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me. I received 15 calls after the social media posts and now I am in such a wonderful home.”
The Ministry of Interior has warned people against fake job offers. Fraudulent companies post employment offers online that promise high salaries and ask candidates to pay for a “processing fees”.
The authority said companies only brought new employees into the country under an employment visa and did not ask people to arrive on a visit visa.
