Cleaner who was cruelly mocked on social media for staring at jewellery is showered with gifts
A cleaner who was cruelly mocked on social media when pictured looking at jewellery has been showered with gifts from strangers.
Nazer al-Islam Abdul Karim, a Bangladeshi cleaner who works in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, was taunted on Instagram when a photo was shared of him staring through a jeweller’s window at expensive items.
An Instagram user shared the photo and captioned it: “This man deserves to only look at rubbish.”
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The mean message led to an outpouring of online support for the 65-year-old cleaner.
One Twitter user, Abdullah Al-Qahtani, who tweets under the handle, “@ensaneyat”, decided to track down Karim.
A photo he posted was shared more than 6,500 times and Karim was identified by his reflection in the shop window.
The cleaner, whose monthly salary is about £150, said he didn’t know the photo of him at the window was being taken.
“I was just doing my job as a cleaner in the municipality and found myself in front of the gold shop,” he told CNN.
“I saw a flash. I didn’t know what this was. Then I heard that my photo was in the media.
“I am very happy about the gifts and very thankful.”
Al-Qahtani, 38, said that money has been sent to Karim by anonymous well-wishers, as well as an iPhone 7, a Samsung Galaxy, return tickets to his home country and bags of rice and honey.
Twitter users from Saudi Arabia have pledged to continue sending him gifts.
Pictures were later posted on social media of Karim posing with some of his presents.
