 Dubai is one of its kind places. It has almost no middle class. There are either rich, powerful people who hire and convert their dreams into reality or the labour class that toils hard to serve the rich.Dubai is making a name for its kitsch architecture and its unbridled show of wealth. It is one of the world's most luxurious and wealthy cities. And though, the surface sheen may present it as a city of dreams, just below are thousands of grim realities. These painful stories relate only to the poor, lower class of Dubai, the foreign, mostly South Asian workers.
It was in late 80s when the Dubai ruler decided to build the most marvellous and unearthly place on the planet and the place started to swell with labourers as people from all over South Asia rushed to seek jobs. The dream was not supposed to have ended in the way it did for these people but that is the grim reality. The incoming workers generally belonged to the low income classes even in their countries of origin but the tax-free income and high rates of exchange promised them better futures. The idea was to earn and send money back to their families. Apparently, it was easy to find an accommodation. Lunch on working days was free almost in all the construction firms. But then there were people working as cab drivers, waiters, cleaners, janitors, nurses, gardeners, nannies, maids and servants.
In reality, rich Arabs and foreign investors don't pay these people good salaries and the contracts are very stringent. Low wages and high rates of accommodation rental leave little money to send home. This is not the only problem though. The workers cannot take leave to meet their families for about 3 years as per the contract.
Ikram, a 43 years old Pakistani, worked as a labourer in Dubai for three years. Now he is a cab driver. In Pakistan, he lived in Sibi, a small place and worked at a shop. Unmarried, his family consisted of a mother, four unmarried sisters and five brothers before he decided to leave Pakistan. A man used to visit his shop and told him that his connections could send him to Dubai where he could earn about 24,000 rupees a month. All Ikram had to do was arrange for his National Identity Card and 10,000 rupees as the fees for documentation, travelling and an appropriate job.
In the first few months, he would have to work as a labourer but then people will contact him for a better job as a shop-keeper there. Ikram could not resist the amount he had an opportunity to earn. Though he and his sisters did not study but three of his youngest brothers were going to a local school. The family managed to arrange only 7,000 rupees in 8 months, when Ikram was sent to Dubai by a friend. His family was very happy and he dreamt of getting his sisters married as soon as possible. Pakistan could never offer him such opportunity.
But it turned out that no other country could do to him what Dubai, being a city of all riches did. He was taken there with other 40 men from all over Pakistan. He was made to sign a bond and was shown a small room for a rent of 120 dirhams. The first shock came to him when he was told that initially, he would get a pay of about 8,000 rupees but his salary would increase to the promised amount of 24,000 rupees. It was hard to swallow at first but after spending a huge amount and having a loan of 5,000 rupees over his head, he had no choice left.
For the first month, he could not send a penny back home and it was hard for him to convince his family of what really had happened to him. "My mother believed in me but your relatives and friends make sure that your family doubts you. Dubai has bars and every entertainment and thus most of them were convinced that I spend my money over such things." He also said that the room he lived in accommodated 32 people.
"We all could not sleep at one time in that small place, so we had turns... to sleep, to cook and to wash." His salary did not increase a penny for three years but now he did shift himself to a room which accommodates 15 people and has the same rent as he paid three years ago. He and his family have failed to contact the person who sent him to Dubai since then. 
There are many like Ikram, though not all of them were brought by deceit. After fulfilling the contract for 3 years of labour, Ikram started working as a cab driver. His pay increased to 15,000 rupees a month. Ikram considers himself lucky as he knew how to drive. Many of them don't. Also he met Abdullah who was from Bangladesh and worked as a cab driver. "I know that in current conditions of Pakistan, I can hardly find a job that can provide me with this salary. I have learnt some Arabic and English here as well. So, it is okay with my family if I keep working here. Three of my brothers now work and the remaining two are still studying. Two of my sisters got married and one is engaged. All I pray to Allah is that may He enable me to make my mother perform Hajj. I will forget every pain and difficult time I have spent here."
Apart from poor accommodation and salaries, health is another issue in Dubai. People do not get to eat much for free. High heat exhausts them. Labourers working on construction sites are always at risk of getting killed. There are many deaths reported every year, and then there are many which don't really make it to the news. People working there somehow compromise with the poor salaries and living spaces but death is something they all dread. Most of them do send money back home to payback the loans they took to come to Dubai.
Recently, the Saudi government showed concern about the overloading population of the foreign workforce in the country. With the emergence of multi-national firms in Dubai, the work-force hired is preferred to be educated and trained. This caused many South Asian labour class job losses and they do not really have enough money to fly back home. The population of South Asian workforce in Dubai alone is about 2.5 million, according to local figures.
Despite all the hardships, Dubai seems to absorb more and more workers. Due to lower wages in their own countries, unskilled workers prefer going to Dubai, away from their families and even risking their lives. The government is trying to control the migrant population and unemployment ratio, but that will not be a day's task. Dubai continues to serve dreams for both the rich and the poor.
|
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
