Dubai is like Mecca today, everyone wants to go
there because it is easier to visit than London,
it is indeed a very beautiful place to be but
there are a lot of places you may never see in
Dubai. We have the pictures for you to see and
the story of this set of people who are almost
in hell in Dubai.
Thirty years ago, almost all of Dubai was a desert
but it has become one of the main trade hubs and
tourist destinations in the region
Some people live in squalid conditions, work in
searing heat and often cannot leave as their
employers keep their passports
An Iranian photographer has captured the
desperate lives of South Asian labourers who
travel to Dubai in the hope of building a future
for their families – but find only squalor, low
wages and backbreaking work in stifling heat.
Muslim labourers during their evening prayer.
Farhad believes that the stories of labourers are
extremely important
Farhad explains: ‘People come to this land to
make their future and benefit from the huge
investments in construction and oil.
‘There are many luxurious hotels and world-
renowned structures which labourers have
built over recent years.
‘The employer usually takes their passport as
soon as they arrive at Dubai airport and they
are all sent to Sonapur.
‘The labourers usually work 14 hours where in
summer the temperature goes over 50C.
‘Conversely, it is usually advised for western
tourists not to stay outside for more than five
minutes in summer.
Misery: Farhad explains that several workers have
their passports seized at the airport, and are
forced to work extremely long hours in blistering
heat for very little pay. Sonapur is now home for
more than 150,000 workers, mostly from India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and China
‘According to the government’s laws, work
places should close down during this kind of
temperature in order not to harm labourers
and their health, but the government often
does not even announce the right weather
temperature.’
The secret vegetable market within Sonapur is a
cheap place for labourers to provide themselves
with vegetable and fruits
Every evening, the hundreds of thousands of young
men who build the city are driven to vast concrete
wastelands to work
No comments:
Post a Comment