- An Instagram user mocked the picture of a cleaner in Saudi Arabia for ‘staring longingly at jewelry’
- Support and sympathy quickly poured in for the man
- He has since been showered with gifts including cash, iPhone 7 and jewelry sets
A Bangladeshi cleaner in Saudi Arabia became an overnight internet sensation; many thanks to the cruel netizen who posted his picture while ‘staring longingly’ at a jewelry shop and mocked him in the accompanying caption.
The elderly man has been identified as Nazer al-Islam Abdul Karim, a 58-year-old Bangladeshi national working as a cleaner in Saudi Arabia.
A rude netizen posted his picture last week on Instagram and captioned it with: “This man deserves to only look at rubbish.”
The picture quickly brought an outpouring of sympathy and support for the old man, and prompted one Twitter user named Abdullah Al-Qahtani to search for him.
“I received tons of phone calls and messages in response to my tweet. Some were really helpful, while others were claiming that they were the cleaner,” Al-Qahtani told CNN.
Three hours and over 6,000 times tweet shares later, they managed to find the man based on the reflection showed in the viral picture.
What followed next was really heartwarming as gifts from all over Saudi Arabia started pouring in for the cleaner.
Al-Qahtani said he received several messages saying they want to give the man gold jewelry and chains. Others pledged to send cash, whiles some said they are willing to gift the cleaner with an iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy S7.
At least one company also promised to send bags of rice, jars of honey and even a return air ticket to Bangladesh.
As of this posting, money continues to pour in for Al-Qhatani. Several pictures of the man has been posted on social media; showing him receiving jewelry sets and cash envelopes, among many others.
Speaking to CNN, Al-Qahtani said he doesn’t remember being photographed but recalled seeing a flash from the glass window. The next moment, he found his photo all over the internet.
“I was just doing my job as a cleaner in the municipality and found myself in front of the gold shop. I am very happy about the gifts and very thankful,” he said.