São Paulo – Foreign doctors are not the only ones interested in Brazil: globalization has already reached the babies. Aiming to provide a wide range of opportunities to their son in the future, the couple Hassan Khattab, 36, and Rim Boussaha, 35, – he is Lebanese and she is Tunisian – have decided to have their child in Brazilian soil. The little Ryan came into the world on August 14th, at the Hospital and Maternity São Luiz, in Itaim neighbourhood in west side São Paulo.
Hassan and Rim had never been to Brazil, but they wanted their son to have another nationality, so he could have more options of places to live and work in when he grows up. “We wanted him to have a new passport, so we tried to think of a country, perhaps a Western one, which was good and had a strong economy,” Hassan told ANBA by telephone.
“Countries like Canada, United States, Brazil and others South America give [local] passports to children [who are born in their territories,” he added. The same does not hold true of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, where the couple live.
Hassan said he did an online research on several countries. His first choice was the United States, but according to him, the process leading to making his wish come true was lengthy, and might not be completed come the time for the baby to be born. One of the pros of Brazil was the fact that Tunisians do not require a visa to enter the country, so his wife’s entry involved no paperwork. The fact that there is a direct, non-stop flight from Dubai to São Paulo also helped.
From afar, the couple chose the maternity hospital, rented a place to stay, hired a lawyer to take care of the legal aspects, and even did research on Arab restaurants in São Paulo. And they are not few, given the massive community of Arab descendants – especially Syrian-Lebanese ones – which the city harbours. Hassan and Rim, however, have no relatives in Brazil.
The wife travelled first, on maternity leave, and then the husband, a few days before she gave birth. By telephone, Rim said she had a good stay in Brazil, and that the maternity hospital was “a very good choice.” The only thing I though was lacking was the language, because the people do not speak English in Brazil,” she said. In Dubai, because most of the residents are foreigners, English is widespread.
The mother said she plans on having her son learn to speak Portuguese, and the father added that the family plans on having holidays in Brazil once the child has grown a bit. Ryan will have to wait before he sees Brazil indeed, because next week, before he turns one month old, the family should travel to Dubai.
“We have done all this for him, so that he will have more job opportunities and better chances in the future,” said Rim. “If he wants to, he can maybe come to Brazil to study, or even to live here,” said Hassan, according to whom his son will be able to feel at home in Lebanon, in Tunisia, in Dubai, and Brazil.
That does not mean that there are no opportunities in Dubai. Hassan, who left Lebanon at age 17, has lived and studied in countries like Cyprus and Australia, and said working in the emirate is “a dream” to many, and that he and his wife both have good jobs, but the Emirates do not grant local nationality to the sons of expatriates.
They both work for the Paris Gallery store chain, which sells perfume, cosmetics and high-end accessories, with points of sale throughout the Emirates; he is the manager of the perfume division, and she is a brand manager. Hassan holds a degree in Business Administration with a major in Strategic Marketing, and Rim is an economist.
He has been in Dubai for 12 years, she has been there for 10, and they met at work. “I proposed to her and, luckily, she said yes,” said the light-spirited Hassan, good-tempered. The couple declined to send photographs to illustrate this article, alleging respect to cultural issues.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
