Dark Side of Dubai’s Boomtown
EmailIt may be the world’s biggest boomtown, but human rights groups say that Dubai’s gleaming towers are being built on the backs of exploited foreign workers. A tiny Arab emirate on the Persian Gulf, Dubai has been making a big splash as a city on the rise — with a glittering skyline, world-class shopping malls and luxury resorts, all fueled by the grand vision of its absolute ruler, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum. But in a scathing new report released in Dubai this weekend, the organization Human Rights Watch says the migrant construction workers building Dubai are little more than indentured servants in the wealthy kingdom, one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS Dubai Ruler Sued in U.S. Over Enslaving Small Boys Human Trafficking: From Dubai to Brazil to Germany Click Here to Check Out More of the Brian Ross Page In an exclusive 20/20 story to air this Friday, Nov. 17, the ABC News investigative team went inside Dubai to learn how the emirate has grown so far so fast. Just days after ABC News began asking questions, the government of the U.A.E. announced a series of reforms to improve the conditions of workers. Dubai’s building boom has been made possible by some 500,000 migrant construction workers, most from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Many work 12 hours a day, six days a week, in extremely hot temperatures that have led to illness and, in some cases, death. The workers live in crowded camps, with eight or more men sharing one small room. In the Human Rights Watch report, called "Building Towers, Cheating Workers," researchers say that the average migrant worker receives a salary of about $175 a month. There is no minimum wage in Dubai, and some workers make as little as $8 a day. Through extensive interviews, Human Rights Watch researchers found that employers in Dubai routinely abuse workers by withholding their wages for their first two months, along with their passports as "security" to keep them from quitting. But the migrant workers have little freedom to quit since many have borrowed thousands of dollars to get the jobs to begin with, paying "recruiters" visa and travel fees, which under U.A.E. law should be paid by the employers, not the construction workers. When workers arrive in Dubai, the construction jobs sometimes pay less than the recruiters originally promised. Desperate to repay their loans, the workers in those cases are trapped. And under U.A.E. law, it is illegal to switch jobs without permission from your employer. Unions are illegal, and striking workers have been deported. "They are living in fear and in extreme anxiety," said Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch, adding that some workers, feeling hopeless, have even committed suicide. Dubai’s defenders point out that construction wages and conditions are comparable, if not superior to those in neighboring countries. "Certainly they are going to be making more money than they would from the villages that they come from," said Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch. "But the very fact that they are so poor and so vulnerable is no reason that they should be taken advantage of to the extent that they are being taken advantage in the U.A.E." After a series of well-publicized strikes and complaints over the last year, the U.A.E. has made some efforts to improve conditions for workers. A law was passed to halt construction between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. during the scorching summer months when temperatures reach well over 100 degrees. But Human Rights Watch said not all employers follow this law, and there are few government inspectors to enforce it. Earlier this year, the U.A.E. announced that trade unions would be legalized. But to date, the government has failed to do so, according to Human Rights Watch, which says that without a strong message from the rulers of the U.A.E., little will change. "It doesn’t happen," Whitson said. "These problems are not being addressed by the U.A.E. government in a serious way, in a way that says, ‘We are going to put employers who violate the law in jail. We are going to send the message that this is not how you are going to do business in the U.A.E. We are going to impose hefty fines and penalties.’" Just last week — only days before Human Rights Watch report was released but a decade after the building boom began — Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, ordered stricter enforcement of the country’s labor laws. In addition, he called for improved medical care for workers, a special court to address their labor complaints and an increase in the number of inspectors monitoring camps and workplaces.
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You mustn’t forget that the conditions that may seem “inhumane” to you and I, are far better than the conditions in their home towns. Where they worked under equal temperatures and worse conditions, you must see the greater image. (though I am not saying it is right, i am just saying its not as bad as it may seem)
Posted by: James | November 13, 2006, 3:08 pm 3:08 pm
This country is buliding it’s house on sand and not he solid rock Jesus Christ. In addition to this Dubai is exploiting those who have the least to build for those who have the most. I wonder if these workers will be able to live or vacation in any of these fabulous buildings. Shame on them!!
Posted by: caroline adams | November 13, 2006, 4:26 pm 4:26 pm
An indifference towards greed continues to be overlooked throughout the world by those either elected or born into in a position of power as an important issue needing immediate solutions to moral, ethical and illegal corruptions. Slavery and human rights abuses of any kind being tolerated and a “part of a culture” due to the complexity of the problem is not an excuse for educated people to look away or give up hope. It is horrible and there is need for us to shout out that these things are not to be tolerated. The suffering of others in the name of greed is a sin of commission for the greedy and a sin of ommission for us that watch it and do nothing.
Posted by: liz | November 13, 2006, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
unlike in america where the law says you have an opinion but the moment the other side hears your opinion which is against your opinion the other side says you have no freedom of expression or something like this
you are free to express just do not be against them
Posted by: sssf | November 13, 2006, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
To: sssf
WHAT ???????
Hearing of the conditions that the workers in the UAE must endure should not be schocking – you are talking about a region of the world that even though it says slavery is not condoned has it as a sub-culture. The Middle Eastern and Asian cultures place little value on life – hence people are bound by their economic standing in their respective societies. Vast populations controlled by a favored few; forced by the requirements of day to day living to endure extreme working conditions for their daily subsistance have no choice. Given the vast unlimited wealth enjoyed by the UAE there is little chance that any long term good will come from this forum. Oh, for a short while there will be negative press – the Ruler of Dubai will say we must enforce our labor laws more vigoursily, but at the end of the day profit margins will rule. Maybe the target of the investigation should be the end consumer who will be paying the outlandish prices these homes/resorts/palaces will demand. You will never get a straight answer from any government. Instead ask those buyers you have access to how they feel about their 20 million home being built on the backs of slave labor.
Posted by: Gene | November 13, 2006, 6:40 pm 6:40 pm
Why???
Why would liberals that support thugs and dictators worldwide, and always and in all ways try to tear down freedom and free markets, ever care about slaves?
The leftist support of Marxist states simply endorses slavery at all levels.
Perhaps that is why they are ALWAYS acting shocked!
Gotta dust your tracks doncha’ guys!
Posted by: Shane Wilson | November 13, 2006, 10:42 pm 10:42 pm
To continue getting cheap oil from the U.A.E. we are buddies with their rulers, who live in a luxury that is hard even to imagine, while they exploit foreign construction works. Those work camps are equivalent to “concentration camps”. If we want democracy to flourish in the Middle East, lets start with a “regime change” in places like that.
Posted by: Al Tinajero | November 14, 2006, 12:08 am 12:08 am
This is one-sided journalism. The countries which “export” these workers don’thave any minimum wage and do no regulate or legislate for the companies in their countries who are taking deposits from labourers before sending them to the Gulf.
The Human Rights Watch report was based on interviews with 60 labourers – less than 0.01% of the total construction workers in the UAE – hardly a representative or scientifically robust survey.
The government in Dubai has taken steps to improve legislation and also to improve enforcement. The situation will certainly improve, but is nowhere near as bad as the HRW report makes out.
Even HRW are quoted at their press conference as recognising that the UAE and Dubai government have improved the laws and enforcement strategies meeting nearly all of the HRW recommendations.
Posted by: Daoud | November 14, 2006, 1:58 am 1:58 am
In the UAE most people are paid according to the passport they hold. Locals benefit the most, Westerners a comfortable second, other Arabs third, Eastern Europeans fourth and much of the rest of the world a distant fifth. Everyone here knows that the laborers, at the very bottom of the fifth column, suffer terribly. But rock that boat too much and no more guarantee that the others will keep their higher status. Add to that, no matter what your status, anyone among the 80% expat community who makes too much noise is simply kicked out of the country.
As one who is purchasing a residence in one of the towers that I know the laborers slave to build, I hate what they are being put through, and know that I’m paying enough that they don’t have to be so poorly paid and treated. But am I ready to put everything I have on the line just to make a statement or take a small stand? I don’t think so. It is almost an all or nothing option. The best hope is continued outside pressure and attention.
Posted by: BD | November 14, 2006, 10:54 am 10:54 am
I’ve been to Dubai a few times and toured around the parts which are under contruction, seen the crowds of workers, buses and buses of them, building the city. The workers would not be there if they were not making money, and making a better life for their families. It’s hard work, but what about the lives of Irish and Italian immigrants building New York’s towers in the early 20th Century? Their days were long, the weather was brutal too [not just very hot in the summer, but also very cold in the winter], but they worked hard and bettered their lives, and those of their families. What about the lives of more recent US immigrants from Latin America working in farms and factories without the protection of labor laws because they are considered “illegal”. Yes these experiences are all different from a comfortable live in the US suburbs in the early 21st Century, but I wouldn’t call a lot of people working hard to better their families the “dark side” of a city.
Posted by: Mark | November 14, 2006, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm
perhaps if other countries treated their laborers with more respect and fair wages and living conditions they wouldn’t be so quick to rush to america and use up our resources.
Posted by: christina | November 14, 2006, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
Over the last few years I have traveled to Dubai many times, althought most of my time is always in Abu Dhabi. However, Dubai calls to you. It is about the people, souks, fabulous malls and buildings, and the desert. People work there because there is work. It is maddening to see Americans infuse their beliefs, values and opinion on other cultures. The Arab culture can defend and support itself without
us.
Posted by: noreen | November 14, 2006, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm
its disgusting, just to think that this people got their wealth through US patronage in buying their oil. we, americans should start using alternative fuel, so these (rich arabs) will just eat and drink their oil and won’t be able to exploit any nationality for that matter.
Posted by: marc | November 14, 2006, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
Just a Quick note to Caroline: I wonder if the constuction workers who built Sears Tower in Chicago or The Empire State bulilding in NY were able to live on them.
Second note to everybody else: We are not angels in this country. There are some shortcomings pitfalls when it comes to labourers lives. But tell me where in the world are there a perfect conditions for workers lives. Besides, those workers chose to come here with their own will. Nobody forced them to come; in fact some them fought to come here because its far better than labourers conditions in their own lands.
Posted by: Mubarak | November 15, 2006, 1:04 am 1:04 am
Marc, put down the purple Kool- Aid for a minute, son. If we don’t buy their oil some other country will.And please don’t blame all the worlds atrocities on the evil west and George Bush. This is the way the world works, has worked since the beginning of time and will always work. Is it fair, no. But there is a market for this labor. Its probably a lot better than what is available to them in their home countries or they wouldn’t be there. Be thankful for what you have, where you live, and your heirtage. And if you find all of those good things evil, you can always move to Somilia.
Posted by: Arthur | November 15, 2006, 8:04 am 8:04 am
Many years ago, my friend worked in Dubai, and told me about the “carts full of Pakistanis” rolling through the streets and stated that slavery still exists.When free world trade allows the least of us to be exploited for monetary gain of the wealthiest, then I would not brag about it too loudly. It was not a story then and with the free trade agreement with any poor country that wants one, it will not be a big story now either. BETS??????
Posted by: frodaddy | November 15, 2006, 11:49 am 11:49 am
DUH! This has been going on for over 40 years! That’s why as a teen I left the dump.
Besides, the west only raises human rights issues when countries prosper economically. E.g. China, otherwise no one cares…just like the last 40 years.
Brian/Jill, here’s an idea, in 40 years you can write the same about Africa.
Slaves aren’t forced to come there. They do it by choice because they actually apply for a visa. So they’re at least legal, unlike in America where Mexicans run across the border and then are inadvertently forced into slavery and Americans call it OPPORTUNITY!! The American dream!
On a positive note there’s one thing binds us all, arab, jew, indian, chinese, american, briton, european…..MMMMM HYPOCRISY :-)
Posted by: FooMan | November 15, 2006, 3:10 pm 3:10 pm
I am disgusted by our criticism of countries that are trying to better themselves,and seem not to feel the slip from economic grip.
If we use our finances well and desist from fighting other people’s war to prove what we are not things will be better in the United States of America. We are doing the same as the acused when we are shipping our jobs overseas for cheap labor. I will like to see the human rights agents to look into those jobs that are being shiped out for cheap labor.In my conclusion, I would like to advise our policy maker to stop playing “big brother” to the world. People are no longer listening to U.S.
The world is turning to China for leadership after we have made a joke of our selves in this Iraq war.
Posted by: Paschal | November 15, 2006, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
Does HRW know the meaning of capitalism? Im from the U.A.E. but have lived my whole life in Mclean, Virginia. I’m tired of the recent U.A.E. bashing. If you want to find slave labour all you have to do is go to any home depot store and find the truck load of illegal immigrants waiting for someone to hire them. Or maybe you can go to any orange farm in california or florida and see where your OJ comes from, or you can go to south east asia and see where your Nike shoes and clothes are made. The fact is that the biggest perpetrators of “slavery” in the world are U.S. corporations. The U.A.E. may not offer laboures mansions to live in or the pay of a C.E.O. but thats capitalism for you. If the labourers did not see a benifit in working there, they would never leave their lives and families just to build our towers, who are we? Or maybe youd rather we adopt communism? almost every one on this forum who has been to the U.A.E is pro U.A.E, wonder why that is? maybe its because we are good people who have opened our borders to poorer people to come work and live their lives in peace. Thats alot more then I can say about the U.S.
Posted by: Ahmed | November 16, 2006, 4:37 am 4:37 am
Easy to pass judgment on others to cover our own flaws – lets look at the all the cheap labor we import from Mexico and other Latin countries – before we pass judgment on others. Yes, labor is cheap in Dubai and there are cases of abuse and exploitation similar to the US. However, the conditions are far worse in the countries where these laborers come from – as they are in the Latin countries. Our arrogance has blinded us and made us quick to point out flaws in others – we should not throw stones in a glass house. Doing so, we lose credibility and are viewed as hypocrites. Let’s find solutions to our problems then we will have the moral impetus to solve the problems of others. Dubai’s boom is spreading to other countries in the region as well. Both Pakistan and India are benefiting from this. Dubai recently invested $43 bil into Pakistan for infrastructure development and another $5 Bil to build a refinery – creating jobs for these people in their home countries. The magic of Dubai is spreading faster than our mantra of democracy – while we spread democracy through war and finding flaws in others, Dubai is spreading economic prosperity and opportunity.
May be they are onto something.
Posted by: Brian | November 16, 2006, 5:23 am 5:23 am
Easy to pass judgment on others to cover our own flaws – lets look at the all the cheap labor we import from Mexico and other Latin countries – before we pass judgment on others. Yes, labor is cheap in Dubai and there are cases of abuse and exploitation similar to the US. However, the conditions are far worse in the countries where these laborers come from – as they are in the Latin countries. Our arrogance has blinded us and made us quick to point out flaws in others – we should not throw stones in a glass house. Doing so, we lose credibility and are viewed as hypocrites. Let’s find solutions to our problems then we will have the moral impetus to solve the problems of others. Dubai’s boom is spreading to other countries in the region as well. Both Pakistan and India are benefiting from this. Dubai recently invested $43 bil into Pakistan for infrastructure development and another $5 Bil to build a refinery – creating jobs for these people in their home countries. The magic of Dubai is spreading faster than our mantra of democracy – while we spread democracy through war and finding flaws in others, Dubai is spreading economic prosperity and opportunity. May be they have it right.
Posted by: Brian | November 16, 2006, 5:24 am 5:24 am
Having lived in Dubai i can confirm that only by living there for a substantial amount of time will you realise that the glossy image that the rest of the world has of Dubai is really just a facade.
Dubai is really a third-world country and it treats those from especially the Indian subcontinent as slave labour. Whilst it may be argued that economic necessity forces them to seek better prospects abroad, im sure the same wouldn’t be said if it was young children (remember camel jockeys) going out and working in Dubai if it was purely economic necessity.
Yes people need to make a living, but people must also be treated with dignity and humanity – something that does not happen in Dubai.
House of cards built on sand….money will not be able to solve all problems there…
Posted by: Paul | November 16, 2006, 11:01 am 11:01 am
“the world is turning to china for leadership”
Right, 3 million dead in Sudan while China paid the Islamic Sharia government and sold it cheap weapons and the arab militias slay hundreds of thousands of innocents in Darfur to this very day.
The tyrants of the Middle East are just that, Tyrants. Slavery existed in Sudan until just recently official and is still practiced by many in the black markets.
As to evil America, lets sit back and think. All of Europe does business with these cutthroats and has for hundreds of years before America was born.
Getting off of their oil is top priority of course. But for some self-righteous hypocrite to come on here and blame America only is beyond any true reality.
Russia and China currently support all the tryants of the world in the darkest places.
Funny I see no one attacking them on an hourly, daily and weekly basis.
Thankfully, ABC is pointing this out. Dubai is more open than most Arab and Middle Eastern countries. It still has serious problems, but is also one of the few trying to change.
But hatred is still being preached from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen with daily propaganda of kill the Christians, the Jews, the evil West. And it is spread around the world by these thug Kings and Despots.
True, we cannot get off their blood oil fast enough.
But I noticed Bubbaaa Clinton accepted the $450,000 from the Saudi’s as fast as he could say what “is” is! Then in his speech on their land accused our soldiers.
Traitor and turncoat. He cares more about money and his own prestige than he does about our Americans.
Posted by: Michael | November 17, 2006, 3:22 am 3:22 am
someone commented – The Middle Eastern and Asian cultures place little value on life…
The majority of Dubai’s population are people not from the Middle East. Many people that live there are from the Indian Sub Continent and the rest are Westerners. Many of the people buying these very expensive homes are Westerners. These homes would not be built and bought if it was not for people that are NOT of that part of the world turning their backs on the truth to live in tax free luxury.
Do you think that most of the people of Asia and the Middle East can afford these homes? Who is really placing little value on life?
There is another country, a very big country, that was built on the backs of slaves whom never even got the chance to be con’d into believing they were getting paid. They were never paid a cent for their labor. The only answer the people of this country have for this is that it was soo long ago and it has nothing to do with them now. I don’t see anyone on this message board saying that THAT culture places little value on life.
What will happen with Dubai after 100 years is that this slave labor will be swept under the rug just like our country did, in the name of progress.
Until the majority of people who are buying these homes demand the end of slave labor, it will continue. The government of Dubai is about making money. If the people who are buying these homes stop buying these homes and state the reason why, the government will stop the slave labor.
Posted by: r | November 17, 2006, 9:27 am 9:27 am
But there *ARE* a lot of the right laws in place in Dubai to protect these workers. The problem is the lax state of enforcement and a weak judiciary.
But that’s a much more boring story to run, even though it applies to much more of what is broken in Dubai.
Also, people who comment on the amount of oil we buy from Dubai shoudl check their facts – that’s just not happening. US buys most oil from nearby places like Canada and Mexico. But again, that’s not a very interesting story, is it?
Posted by: MK | November 17, 2006, 10:42 am 10:42 am
Hopefully 20/20 has assembled an informative show and not slanted towards the negative. I’ll watch it with the hopes of seeing some horse racing clips.
Posted by: don | November 17, 2006, 11:25 am 11:25 am
What is the big deal? Graduate students and post-docs also work 12 to 16 hour days, 6 – 7 days a week in the United States and that is legal! People may be in graduate school / post-doc system for 10 to 20 years. They can’t change jobs without their bosses permission. If the students from China will not do what they are told they are sent back to China just like the workers of Dubai! How are the slaves of Dubai treated any different than the slaves in the United States? Low income children go to school and are beaten and tortured in the United States. I don’t see the difference between how the US treats their slaves than how Dubai treats their workers. This is my personal observation as a US citizen born and raised in the United States. Step down from your holy mound 20/20 and look at the United States
Posted by: ZG | November 17, 2006, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm
This story is a good start. ABC’s next series should be covering the 2 million children in slave labor in India, or the thousands of children, some on 5 or 6 years old, working in mines in Africa. Mines that do very well financially, selling copper and other minerals that go into electronic goods like one’s cell phone. The BBC is already there and reporting on it. Those stories will make you cry. I wish the U.S. media would care less about reporting on Hollywood weddings and more about what’s really going on in the rest of the world.
Posted by: Kim O | November 17, 2006, 10:40 pm 10:40 pm
As an ex-pat in Dubai I ate evening Iftar dinners during Ramadan with workers in several compounds and looked around while there. Many a college dorm would be the same. What’s missing is trees and grass, but Dubai has little of that anywhere. What did the workers want when we asked them? A mosque closer by. Life may be tough by US standards. But, please, do compare their lives here to their lives in their countries of origin. Regarding oil: Dubai’s economy is 97% free of oil. The Sheikh is NOT oil rich. Scrap that stereotype.
Posted by: ken Wise | November 18, 2006, 1:06 am 1:06 am
Stupid Dubai Ruler wants Dubai to be “The Best” in the World, they to preove to everyone that high life is the way and even your toilet seats have to be comfortable or basically throw it away and get a new built by a slave. And don’t forget they say H.H Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Makhtoum and so and a long title for after his name, shame for him to have his name “Mohammed” he could have atleast changed his name before comencing his visions for future of his Dubai. He has never talks about that Dubai sits on the World’s largest earthquake fault lines and when there is a earthquke it rattles the whole of U.A.E at magnitude of 6.1 on richter scale.
Posted by: concerned | November 18, 2006, 8:01 am 8:01 am
What an insult to the people of DXB. Your telecast was short on facts and more on putting people on the spot. How did YOU ever get into DXB? You need to go back to the hometown of just one of the workers you met and see exactly what they are coming from. Then, you would see a better comparison of the “conditions” that you stated. Where are the interviews with the employers or job hunters that misinformed them on their employment? I lived in DXB for over 6 years, my father helped Sheik Mohammed’s father, Sheik Rashid, build DUBAL. You have no right to degrade this man’s family. My brother spent his summers, working in sandblasting cement tubes in the heat of summer along with many Indian and Pakistani people. They were hot and tired, living in basic sheltering, but so thankful to have a job. You don’t realize the damage you are doing with this type of reporting. Brian Ross, you need to get out of your self-righteous attitude and into the meat of the issue. We cannot even begin to relate to this culture staying in a $1500/night hotel.
Posted by: Fajr | November 18, 2006, 10:52 am 10:52 am
Are you kidding?!? This is NOT news. I felt that Brian Ross was really stretching to make a story. The builders of Dubai are there because even the meager wages that they earn there are far better than what they would make in their home countries. These workers are from countries like Sri Lanka and India. According to the Dept. of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka, in 2002, the average household income was 12, 803 Rs- that converts to $117.68 US dollars. In Dubai if they are making $1 per hour at $10 per day 6 days per week they are earning their national average salary in a mere 12 days! If I could earn the US average income in 12 days, I would incur some risk as well. Not to mention that working only 6 days as opposed to 7 is a luxury in countries like Sri Lanka.
The “squalid” living conditions that these workers are forced to live in are also relative. As I look at the photo, I see swamp coolers on each unit. Though I can’t see it, I am willing to wager that this housing in Dubai has indoor plumbing as well. Both of these items are an upgrade from the conditions that most Sri Lankans live in. If you want a refresher course on awful living conditions, perhaps a story on the housing provided for migrant farm workers in the USA or the housing on the Indian Reservations in this country is a place to start.
Lest we forget, the lifestyle and wealth that we enjoy in the USA was forged on the backs of the “exploited”. Not that it was right, but how dare we throw stones. Many workers during our Industrial Period, the African slaves before that, and currently the farm workers and sweat shop laborers in foreign countries are fine examples of this. Not that I haven’t benefited from all of this, I’m just pointing out that Dubai isn’t doing anything that our country isn’t doing. Yes, these foreign workers earn a pittance when compared to our economy, but it is a windfall for them when compared to their earning power in their home countries.
As for the point that the horses owned by Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum live better than the exploited workers… to be fair, those horses probably live in nicer quarters than most middle class Americans. Perhaps this story should be reviewed on John Stossel’s “Give me a break” segment.
Posted by: J. Vasconcellos | November 18, 2006, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
Please give me the email address to send in my comments.
Thanks.
Posted by: s arjunan | November 18, 2006, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
According to your webcast on Dubai in general, i’s a rich COUNTRY. hum… last i checked, I lived in the largest city in the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES and Dubai is the 2nd largest of this same country.
Some fact checking would be nice. Dubai is an emirate, a state if you will. that state’s largest city is Dubai City. Dubai is NOT a country. infact, it is the SMALLEST state in the UAE.
Be happy you can travel here and not be shot like most countries here.
For more truths about the UAE, check out the underground blogs. Mine is one of them.
Ofer up your views on the issues we discuss.
Posted by: a blessing in tragedy | November 18, 2006, 5:16 pm 5:16 pm
They are building manson on a sand which will collapse when all the exploited people leave. WORLD don not buy the illusion and travel to DXB.
Posted by: John | November 18, 2006, 5:32 pm 5:32 pm
Thank you for exposing this Slavery that is so prevalent in the region that not only Dubai but Qatar too is guilty of.Qatar is about to host the 2006 asian Games all built by the Slaves they have brought from the nearby sub continents.What a joke that a small country with hardly an athlete of there own would host an Asian Game !
Dubai has some 5000 construction site with the intention of building a population of 20 million Rich!residents. Those who are building cannot afford to buy a home as missunderstood by some in comparing the building of NewYork by the Irish .The Irish were allowed to live in USA unlike Dubai .Shame on the Rulers of Dubai and Qatar.
Posted by: arvind | November 18, 2006, 8:27 pm 8:27 pm
Having lived in Dubai for 6 years and run an Emirati owned company, I was generally pleased with the positive view of Dubai.
Regarding the labor part of the video, the facts of the laborer living conditions were correct. However, we as Westerners must keep in mind that the wages they’re paid min Dubai are many times what they would be paid in their home country. Most of those laborers work in Dubai so they can send virtually all of their earnings back to their familes. So, if the workers are there of their own free will that would be okay.
But, two very negative issues occur were raised that I 100% agree with:
first, the worker’s passportds are held by their employer so they can’t leave if they want to and second, in many cases their wages are withheld many months by their employers. These two issues must be addressed.
Posted by: Dan | November 19, 2006, 10:13 am 10:13 am
The observation by Human Rights Watch is 100 percent correct. I was in dubai for nearly 10 years. The construction workers are treated as SLAVES and their accomodationns are like STABLES. In SONAPUR, DUBAI I have see 20 to 25 persons in one room, and with only one toilet/bathroom, and also with one or no aircon.
They are payed 350 to 450 Dhs(80 to 125 $) per month(they work 12hr a day 6 days a week). If they are sick, no medication is provided, or if they take a leave due to illness 3 days salary will be cut off. So many cnstruction workers are admitted to the Govt. hospitals due to brain swelling in the summers. Many workers who cannot go back to their country commit suicide, but due to lack of insurance, thir family will not get any compensation. It is a REAL SHAME than even The Human Rights Watch cannot do anything. MAN, IT ALL HAPPENS IN A COUNTRY RULED BY DICTATORS!
Posted by: john r | November 19, 2006, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm
I feel sorry for those workers over there!! but truly we need to pay attention the man who is in control of all these things.. my first thought was oh my god could this man truly be the anti christ..
Posted by: tracie | November 19, 2006, 11:30 pm 11:30 pm
Another story for Dubai. EMAAR PROPERTIES forbids the circulation of the 7 Days Newspaper in their properties. Can 20/20 investigate why the censorship by the Dubai government?
Posted by: Levi | November 26, 2006, 2:08 am 2:08 am
Many of you are using fallacious reasoning. Just because ill occured in America in the 19th and early 20th century with European immigrants and currently with Latin American immigrants does not make the wealthy princes of Arabia right for doing it as well. Injustice should be routed out wherever it occurs.
Posted by: Michael | October 8, 2007, 7:27 pm 7:27 pm
My Question to the Employers of Construction companies is.
Can they cross their harts and ask them self weather the money what they are paying to there labourers is sufficient at least to compensate the sweat and blood which the labours are shedding who are actual hero’s behind the huge structures and Roads?
These hero’s are not even invited for a soft opening party at least to thank them and appreciate there work by providing them with at least a can of beverage along with some snacks.
I feel very bad for these guys and I hope UAE, or at least Dubai will implement fixed wage system. And pay the labourers the deserved compensation
Posted by: Khizar | November 14, 2007, 5:28 am 5:28 am
Remember that the Italians and Irish in the 20th century could buy land in New York. These ppl can not buy any land or have any education. And they are away from their families. They have their passports taken from them. They have no rights…thats why its much harder for them than it was for Italians and Irish back in the 20th century. Learn…then open your mouth.
Posted by: joe | January 23, 2008, 2:31 pm 2:31 pm
I think we should be able to separate the nationality we are from the opinions we’re allowed to express.
I’m British so you can say to me “Empire, slavery, Iraq, Afghanistan” etc but that doesn’t mean I can’t express symapthy for exploited (and yes they are exploited, all you slave labour fans out there) workers in Dubai.
And this whole patronising “this is how the REAL WORLD works” argument is pathetic.
It is only how the world works if you LET it work like that and don’t question actions and systems you find morally reprehensible.
The point is, the people who run Dubai are swimming in cash, and just because they can exploit cheap labour from neigbouring countries doesn’t mean we should say it’s ok.
Generally the people who say that this is the “Real world” are the ones who can afford to go to these grotesque hotels and shop in the Malls and aren’t the ones building them.
Posted by: Stuart | March 3, 2008, 8:10 am 8:10 am
its not entirely goverment fault, coz some workers are given good accmodation, but they choose to leave out and leave with there friends with a small villas. If I may suggest, why dont you investigate also the POLICE here in dubai, some cases here is not properly solve coz you know why? police didnt know and dont understand english, only few. pls check that one out.
Posted by: oscar | September 17, 2008, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm
Why do people choose to become slaves? They are slaves only because they have no other choice. Their only motive is survival. They make the choice and their owners take advantage of their plight.
Posted by: Patricia | December 31, 2008, 7:22 am 7:22 am
i lived in Dubai, UAE for several years, and it has to be one of the worst cities if not countires in the world to live in. one could write a book on how many ignorant, stupid things the uae people and governemtn do and say. i suggest to anyone with half a brain and any interest in staying happy and sane to not even visit dubai. the hotels are over rated, the stupid burj al arab isnt even that great, as i have been in and around it many times.. its their pride and joy cause surrounding it is nothing but mud hut type homes and desert. if they spent half their money on educating themselves and their social structure and community.. they might be somewhere. but they would rather spend 1 billion on horses than schools
Posted by: mr x | April 5, 2009, 8:14 am 8:14 am
I have visited labor camps in Dubai on several occasions. I figured out that this would the most appropriate way to separate the facts from the fiction in the stories I have been reading. In short, the living conditions in the camps were adequate. All of them were equipped to allow a decent stay for laborers and they all were in a far better condition than the ones I visited in other countries. The main issue was the lack of space where for example a room for 6 had 10 workers or even more. This however was a temporary condition due to lack of availability and it was always a matter of weeks before you could see these laborers moving to new bigger camps. The issue of availability was common for all expats: When I first moved to Dubai, apartments were thin so I had to share a villa with others and wait 6 months till new apartments were ready for rent. That’s the situation from my perspective. If you, however ask the workers about how they feel, their answer would be different: they consider their living conditions to be quite good as most of them come from the poorest parts in Asia where as you know, the most basic living requirements are not available due to extreme poverty. In these camps, you will find proper sanitation and the laborers do get 3 meals a day and are paid 10 times higher than what they get back home. You need to keep in mind however that unlike Sheikh Mohammed have been portrayed lately in the media, the man is not an emperor who owns Dubai. He is the ruler of Dubai and Dubai is a liberal city where many local and international companies operate, recruit and manage their own labor force.
Posted by: f. | May 6, 2009, 11:53 am 11:53 am
(continued) Dubai Cares was different. Like the rest of institutions in the UAE, it reflected how this country operates: first set a bold vision then work relentlessly and assiduously to achieve it by assigning the work to the best and the brightest. The achievements of Dubai cares have been phenomenal: launched in late 2007, Dubai Cares “has reached more than 4 million children in 20 countries. It is currently building and renovating 2,072 schools, training 22,370 teachers, helping establish 3,157 Parent Teacher Associations, creating 489 libraries and distributing 1.3 million books written in the local languages of the countries in which they are distributed”!! Just a couple of months ago Sheikh Mohamed asked Dubai Cares to react to the massacres in Gazaa. In less than a week, an event was organized during which 200,000 hygiene and school kits were assembled by 8,000 volunteers and sent to the children of Gazaa.
Dubai Cares is just one example of Sheikh Mohamed local and international honorable contributions to humanity such as the 10Bn $ endowment he created for promoting higher education in the Arab world, his resolution on a green energy city, his support to Arab and non-Arab small-business entrepreneurs, his unconditional support to organizations for autistic children and for the disabled, his work on improving the labor laws and cancelling the “ban” system and his truly exceptional role his in promoting the role of women in the Arab world. You will be amazed to see the very senior roles that women occupy in the UAE. Just recently, Reem Al Hashmi, a 29 year-old Harvard grad with an exceptional career track, was appointed as a minister of state in the UAE cabinet. Reem does not come from the royal family. She’s a self-made woman who proved to be an exceptional talent and was then appointed a minister.
I can write many more pages about Sheikh Mohammed’s accomplishments. I only wrote about him because he’s the man being bashed lately by the British media. I can also write tens of pages about the virtues and the profound characters of Sheikh Zayed or Sheikh Mohamed ben Zayed or Sheikh Khalifa ben Zayed. And these leaders are no exception because as you live in the UAE you realize that these character traits belong to most Emirati men and women you meet: courageous, tolerant, good-hearted, generous and visionary. This is the heritage of the people of this nation.
Posted by: f. | May 7, 2009, 9:33 am 9:33 am
(continued) When you visit Emirates Towers in Dubai, you will often see Sheikh Mohammed passing by, walking alone with no bodyguards around him. You can approach him, talk to him and entertain with him a casual discussion. You can also see him driving his own car in Dubai, alone, unattended. How much trust a man has to have in his people and in the people residing in his country not fear anyone for his life? Is it how a dictator or a righteous man would behave?
Finally, all of you reading the sleaze in the articles that were lately published please take some time to examine with a critical eye what’s been said. If my words are not enough, please buy the latest book published by Sheikh Mohamed, “Poems from the Desert” as it reveals the very essence of this man. The following is an excerpt of the foreword written by Paulo Coelho in the book. Paulo Coelho is one of the most accomplished thinkers and writers in modern literature, a man, I believe, is far more credible than fame-seekers and sleaze-sellers like J. Harry. Therefore, if you don’t find credibility in my words, please read his:
“Ortega and Gasset once wrote: “I am myself and my circumstances”. I knew the moment I laid my hands on the collection of poems by His Highness that I was in front of a testimony from a political, public figure but also in front of a human being – with all his passions and yearnings. [...]
What an act of courage – I said to myself while turning the pages of this book – to present his soul bare to the world. Poetry is a mirror that reveals, without concessions, the very essence of a human being. And here I am reading the words of a man that has to play in the political arena, of a man that – by the necessities of his position – has always to be temperate and to reconcile. […]
Writing is an act of courage. But it’s worth taking the risk, and His Highness’s poems help us to understand better the soul of a man and the heritage of the nation.”
Posted by: f. | May 7, 2009, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Wecome to a land of slave labor, cheap russian hookers, expensive hotels,food,and cab drivers with no sense of direction. Thanks to off shore banking and tax insentives the place will only get bigger and dirtier.
Posted by: No thanks | May 16, 2009, 5:52 pm 5:52 pm
you keep bringing up the fact that the conditions in the UAE are probably way better than where they come from…and thats a problem too! shame on them for having the poor conditions. shame on the uae for having the poor working conditions. latino immigrants in the u.s. are different because they can go home if they choose. They can spend time with their families. these people in the labor camps are important and they deserve family and quality housing at the least.
Posted by: Mark | November 14, 2009, 5:51 pm 5:51 pm
We are no different in the USA, except our slave labor starts thousands of miles away in sweat shops in China.
Posted by: skb | December 1, 2009, 3:03 pm 3:03 pm
Ahhh great Islam….treating your fellow men, especially those who break their backs in that dreadful heat, making your grandiose hotels and skyscarpers.
These oil rich sheiks are the WORST muslims and snaked. They espout Islamic values yet treat laborers like virtual slaves. They send their spoiled little brats to the French Riviera, kocking up one supermodel at a time, while thy impose strict laws back home and treat their own women like dirt
Never respect their wealth. There are those who through hard work earned it. These hypocritical rats were basically lucky and sat on oil. Without it they have NOTHING of worth. Aside from oil they create nothing of value….no tvs, no cars, software, etc.
Posted by: Ray | July 12, 2010, 6:11 pm 6:11 pm
Why did it the the Human Rights groups take so long to figure this out. Kinda convenient to get the building done and now it is falling apart by the time they catch up with Dubai. And as for Mexico coming over here, we want them to go home, nobody is taking their passports away and holding on to their money to keep them here. Go Home.
Posted by: Mary | January 21, 2011, 2:38 pm 2:38 pm