BUDAPEST // He’s 6-foot-6, built like a heavyweight boxer and has tattoos all over his body. Baba Mujhse may sound like the type of guy most people would run away from – but hundreds of desperate migrants are instead running to him for help.
This gentle giant, with a Hungarian-Jewish mother and Egyptian-Muslim father, is a living embodiment of reconciliation as he helps the mostly Islamic asylum seekers who turn up exhausted every day at Budapest’s main train station.
Mujhse, a fluent Arabic speaker, and his posse of volunteers help out at Keleti station, Hungary’s most popular train terminal for migrants because it’s the departure point for trains to Austria, Germany and other wealthy European Union nations.
“The first time I came here, one of my friends said we should come because there are a lot of Arabs coming and we should try to help,” Mujhse, a 31-year-old textile designer, said on a recent scorching afternoon. “So we came out and I got stuck here. It was supposed to be a one-off occasion and it’s now been two or three months.”
Mujhse’s parents met at a Budapest university and decided to celebrate their respective religions – together observing the holidays of both faiths. The parents moved to Cairo years ago, but Mujhse stayed in the Hungarian capital. His multicultural background is now serving him well as he serves others.
The good Samaritan’s huge size has mostly been an advantage in his volunteer work, dissuading far-right groups intent on intimidating migrants at the station.
“It creates a feeling of security in the migrants,” Mujhse said, after distributing boxes of muesli bars to children and helping fill a plastic tub for a baby’s bath. But sometimes his daunting appearance scares the migrants as well.
Mujhse and the volunteers quickly learned which religions or ethnicities needed to be given space of their own.
“The Syrians and the Afghans, for example, sit fully separated,” said Mujhse. “The Syrians don’t consider the faith of the Afghans to be as strong as their own. They stick to these unwritten rules of not mixing.”
Every couple of hours, Mujhse and fellow volunteers meet the trains coming in from southern Hungary and Serbia. Hungary expects to finish building a 4-meter (13-foot) high fence on its 175-kilometer (109-mile) border with Serbia this month, which Prime Minister Viktor Orban says is needed to defend Hungary and the rest of the EU from waves of migrants.
The government has also set up billboards around the country with messages like “If you come to Hungary, you have to obey our laws” – and will soon launch a similar anti-migrant campaign in countries like Greece and Serbia, which migrants traverse on their way to Hungary.
In contrast, volunteers like Mujhse are leading a grass-roots movement to provide migrants food, clothes, toys, medical assistance – and kindness.
“They believe they can provide a better life for their children and I believe I can help them. We complement each other,” Mujhse said. “They give me patience, faith and a lot of love, while I can give them hope.”
Volunteers check the train station’s arrivals board to see where their train will roll into. Once the information is posted, it’s a mad dash to reach the last two cars – reserved for the migrants – to ensure the volunteers arrive before the migrants scatter.
The sprint of several hundred meters (yards) leaves Mujhse out of breath. He quickly recovers and is soon helping children off the train, guiding the migrants to the transit zone, and asking about any special needs.
More than 120,000 migrants have entered Hungary this year, nearly three times as many as in all of 2014. Over the past month, about 1,500 a day have been arriving, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and other conflict zones.
After registering with Hungarian authorities and applying for asylum, they are sent by train to one of Hungary’s reception centers, a trip that takes them through Budapest. After months of ignoring the hundreds of migrants sleeping at train terminals or in nearby parks, the city has now set up “transit zones” at its three largest train stations. The areas are cordoned off, with bathroom and shower facilities, trash bins and most importantly, drinking faucets.
The transit zone at Keleti is in the underpass of the recently renovated train terminal. About 300 migrants were there one recent day, many families with small children, sitting on blankets or sleeping bags, enduring the heat. Some children played dodge ball.
Mujhse and the volunteers say the thanks they receive make all the hard work worthwhile.
“We’ve received a lot of feedback from those who are now in the camps or have reached their objective and are already abroad, their families reunited, and their lives resolved,” Mujhse said.
“When I come down to the station or get on the train, they greet me and hug me,” Mujhse added. “It compensates for everything – the time, the energy, everything.”
Associated Press
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
SPECS
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
Catchweight 63.5kg: Shakriyor Juraev (UZB) beat Bahez Khoshnaw (IRQ). Round 3 TKO (body kick)
Lightweight: Nart Abida (JOR) beat Moussa Salih (MAR). Round 1 by rear naked choke
Catchweight 79kg: Laid Zerhouni (ALG) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ). Round 1 TKO (punches)
Catchweight 58kg: Omar Al Hussaini (UAE) beat Mohamed Sahabdeen (SLA) Round 1 rear naked choke
Flyweight: Lina Fayyad (JOR) beat Sophia Haddouche (ALG) Round 2 TKO (ground and pound)
Catchweight 80kg: Badreddine Diani (MAR) beat Sofiane Aïssaoui (ALG) Round 2 TKO
Flyweight: Sabriye Sengul (TUR) beat Mona Ftouhi (TUN). Unanimous decision
Middleweight: Kher Khalifa Eshoushan (LIB) beat Essa Basem (JOR). Round 1 rear naked choke
Heavyweight: Mohamed Jumaa (SUD) beat Hassen Rahat (MAR). Round 1 TKO (ground and pound)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammad Ali Musalim (UAE beat Omar Emad (EGY). Round 1 triangle choke
Catchweight 62kg: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR). Round 2 KO
Catchweight 88kg: Mohamad Osseili (LEB) beat Samir Zaidi (COM). Unanimous decision
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The%20specs
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Miguel Cotto world titles:
WBO Light Welterweight champion - 2004-06
WBA Welterweight champion – 2006-08
WBO Welterweight champion – Feb 2009-Nov 2009
WBA Light Middleweight champion – 2010-12
WBC Middleweight champion – 2014-15
WBO Light Middleweight champion – Aug 2017-Dec 2017
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
