Fate and effort helped a Dongri orphan succeed in life. Jamil Meusen was a three-year-old orphan on the streets of Dongri, Mumbai in 1974. Homeless and hungry, he was picked up by two police constables and lodged in a local observation home. His story shows how nothing is impossible.
FATE STEPS IN
Jamil was miserable at the observation home and did not feel a sense of belonging. A priest from Dongri transferred him to St. Catherine’s home, an orphanage in Mumbai. That’s where he met the Meusens, a Dutch couple. They decided to adopt him. Jamil was six.
LIFE IN NETHERLANDS
Jamil was educated in the Netherlands and then underwent military training. He joined the police academy to get a Masters in Public Administration. Jamil was an officer in the army for 18 years. In 2007, he joined the Netherlands police. In an interview in Mumbai Mirror, Jamil, now 48, said he was recently made commissioner of police and chief of a district.
REMEMBERING HIS ROOTS
Though brought up in the Netherlands, Jamil wanted to maintain his connection with his past and returned to Mumbai in 1986, 2013 and 2016. He visited the observation home with his wife and four children. Jamil recently addressed the children of the home and revealed his plans to work on community development initiatives. He was in India with eight friends keen on starting programmes to help the poor.
MUMBAI POLICE
Police officials at Dongri also told Mirror about their interactions with Jamil. ACP Ravindra Shisve said Jamil studied policing with him for about ten days and compared the Indian and Dutch systems. Jamil also informed the ACP about a previously failed visit to the observation home because officials couldn’t locate his records. It was through Shisve’s effort that Jamil and his family finally visited the home in 2016.
Jamil advised the children at home to exploit every opportunity, pursue education, do their best and never lose hope while fighting hardships.
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Image: eenaduindia
