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Presents BUILDERS OF TORTOLA |
Omar Tarabay Now an ‘East Ender’ by choice, Omar Tarabay was born in Lebanon, a country with ancient origins on the one hand (“the homeland of the Phoenicians”) and modern roots on the other (Lebanon gained its independence from being a French Mandated part of Syria in 1943). Since that time there have been a number of natural and human challenges within Lebanon that have encouraged many its citizens to seek their fortunes elsewhere. As a consequence the Lebanese are found in many parts of the world, including the Caribbean, commonly making up an important part of the merchant class in countries such as the BVI.
Omar Tarabay left Lebanon in 1972 just before the fifteen-year civil war that devastated the country. He came to the BVI where he had an uncle who offered him a job in his clothing store. It wasn’t what he expected – even the mid-1970s the pace was slower than he was used to. But he liked the respectful attitude of the people living here and the socializing that went on. Omar later went out on his own, selling clothing from house to house in Roadtown before setting up his own store in town in 1976 (in what is now the Digicel Building on Waterfront Drive). He later moved to his current location opposite the Bobby’s store. Originally his ‘Varieties’ store only sold clothing but later Omar started to add his well-known stock of electrical goods. He was a pioneer in the sale of electronics, and has always tried to bring in good quality merchandise. His criterion for competition is to set his own standards, it is not geared to the actions of others. He does his best to look after his customers.
Omar’s contribution to the BVI, like so many other immigrants of his time, was to help raise the level of living in the country, by providing goods and services that were previously unavailable. He found that the standard of living was lower in the early 1970s and selling door-to-door on credit made sense. Now people can afford more and a fixed sales location makes more sense. Mr. Tarabay has also tried to give back to his adopted community. He has been involved in the long term in social groups, churches, sports groups and charities. He has been, he believes a good expatriate, “doing what he should do”. He tries to encourage young people and give them direction.
Although Omar’s family came from Lebanon his three children were born here. His uncle and other family members also live here. But he still returns to Lebanon for vacations. In Omar’s nearly forty years on Tortola he has witnessed a lot of change. He has noticed the physical (environmental) costs of economic growth as well as the social costs. Tortola is less friendly now as the population balance and mix has altered. He believes it is more difficult now for poorer people to get a foothold in the BVI. It is not surprising, given his daily commute from his home in the East End and the location of his store, that Omar finds the traffic and parking to be major issues.
In his immediate future Omar sees more of the same. He hopes that he BVI will try to slow and/or control growth. Although he doesn’t regret his career path, he might orient himself more to the service sector if he were doing it over again. He still enjoys the BVI.
Draft of July 10th, 2009 of interview of 6th June, 2009
Builders of Tortola Guide