[Assam] Miami Vice: Indian American script for Boyle - true story

[umesh sharma]

Hi,

Seeing that so many of us are interested in turning Boyle's attention to problems in the West, and C-da suggested an H1B hero story. It removed my hesitation in mentioning this issue which has been bugging me since an ex-roommate met me last evening after my work. He had come to collect his suitcase, which was lying at my place since he had jumped on a Greyhound bus in Nov 2008 end and made a 29 hour journey back to Miami from where he had moved to DC only a week earlier. Then, he had called me from Jaipur Restaurant while I was having Starbucks coffee-date. For once I had no place for him to stay and he stayed homeless in airports and even in the fire escape/lobby bench of our previous apartment complex. I gave him daily about 10 dollars and he somehow felt offended when I took him to a homeless shelter. He complained that his parents image (both hi-tech in high paying jobs from Karnatka) would be ruined if locals in DC found out their only child is
 living in homeless shelter in the same city. 

Some new friend in Miami (2000 miles/3,000 kms away) gave him his credit card details and he took a bus ticket to Miami. He had already made many to-and-fro journeys DC/Miami - even one from Canada border up north staright to Miami in far south.

I stopped communication with him for a while (he just wanted to live dangerously - not work the hard way - even homeless shelter The Pursuit of Happyness style) and then also just a couple of minutes talk - down from even upto an hour on phone - if he had nothing better to do and I could do with some chat. Last night I told him not to call me for atleast a month. That was becos he was on phone with his previous boss - 2 years younger than him. His boss is a pre-med student at www.fiu.edu Florida. A South Dakota born Bangladeshi American who moonlights as the druglord (as per my ex-roommate) of Miami and nearby area getting his stuff from California. That guy's family has no idea about his sidebusiness. One or two Indian F1 students (with American girlfriends), who need the money to shower on girlfriends, do it part-time - from time-to-time. 

Last time Jeetu moved in Nov he had cursorily mentioned that one of his neighbors had got him involved somehow with selling weed/green/ganja/bhang - in India it is quite common --whenI was a kid in the main market in Johari Bazaar one could get bhang-green leaves mixed for extra Rs2 in your sugarcane juice - it was clearly mentioned on the board. Later, when I grew up, as per Hindu Holi fest celebration some school friends had icecream laced with the greenleaves - for Rs5 each (10cents). That is tradition - not considered bad even now. However, laws are different and even in India they have changed. Ofcourse, India now had gone even further - banning smoking in parks and roads even - in some places.

This time round, his info was chilling. It seemed I was watching some Bollywood movie - even Slumdog - where one brother is do-gooder and the other is a gun-toting gangster. This ex-roommate of mine had purchased a $120 semi-automatic, as per him, in the flea market in Miami area and couple of 5-inch blade knives. These he kept on his person all throughout his recent stay in Miami. His said his business was risky. He sold the weed to college girls (who bought for their boyfriends). Many other girls were in business - some quite sexy - and he had physical relations with many of them (less than 10) in 2 months - incl muslim, Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Jew. He mentioned one girl who seemed like Monica Bedi - the Oxford educated, Indian model and moll of Indian drug king Abu Salem (now in jail) . 

He was treated like a brother, esp since he converted to Islam (just in name - no circumcision) and a devout muslim girl fell for him. She had come from Bangladesh too-as a child .He had come from India as a child. It seemed to me that the friendliness of his boss , free money, free car, free girls -- all helped lure him to this gruesome business - just like in movies - such as Satya.

His parents suspected this and he gave his ultimatum - help me get out or else he might be iin jail. His Indian friend's American girlfriend advised him this time (just like his Indian girl-friend - who was just a friend -had done in Nov) totell all to his parents.
They asked him to take the next flight back home- leave all his ill-gotten wealth (and his gun) there. He brought his knives back (checked-in withthe luggage).

He says he has recoverted out of Islam - to whatever he believed in - wears a cross, goes to temple and mosque in the same Sunday. Says he would be completing college thanks to his parents now. There is no happy ending - there is no ending - life goes on

I am out. No more talking with him. He is still one of my online friends though .

Oh-no - he just called ! I asked him again - don't talk to me atleast for a month - till you stop talking to your boss. Period.

PS: On Friday I met a guy who works at the post office and owns a half million dollar house (on mortgage). New Landlord of another roommate. He was with airlines, but actually a sailor. Visited 37 countries (though not much of India- except Goa where he grew up and Kashmir which he visited in 2004 drinking beer in houseboats - each houseboat has an armed soldier on it for protection-not to police the customers??). He left sailing after a 6 month stint in a ship doing Dubai-Mumbai-Dubai. Taking alphonso mangoes, gaint shrimp etc to Middle East (and drugs in the hold) and gold bars on the way back (in the hold). It seems most ships were forced to do it - or the crewmember (if high-up) could be shot dead. They came in big boats generallt before the boats reached the docks and took away their stuff. They paid handsomely . Also, he left sailing becos of hi-tech ships are off-loaded in 4-6 hours only - so no time to be on land.

Hows that for international Boyle story? Scary, isn't it. In July 2006, I saw Miami Vice the 2006 movie inside the Universal Studios, Hollywood, in a theatre in an area where only employees can go - thanks to another ex-roommate's schooltime friend - both from Mumbai/Bollywood. They had passes only for 2 - I somehow slipped in.

Umesh Sharma



Washington D.C. 



1-202-215-4328 [Cell]



Ed.M. - International Education Policy

Harvard Graduate School of Education,

Harvard University,

Class of 2005



http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)



http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)









www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )

http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/







http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/