Real Builders of UAE

Yet again another post inspired by the articles from The National. I feel their focus is more on the human aspecs of the society instead of "Tallest" & "Biggest" structure stories in other local newspapers. Two articles during the past week caught my attention & both highlighted the lives of poor labourers working in the construction sector.

The first article highlighted the small pleasure enjoyed by people most of us see as inferior to us. Yes they are poor, but the amount of sacrifices they make & the big hearts they have, they are much better than us. An excerpt from that article:

“Tonight, everyone will have meat and rice,” Muntazir Khan says, washing his hands, then pressing them against his beige kurta. “We will eat well.”

Thursday night was a busy night for Khan. His friends were looking forward to dinner, so when he got home from work he went straight into the kitchen.

Inside are all the essentials for a typical Pakistani meal: one shelf has a box of garam masala and a bag of basmati rice, jars of black pepper and lentils, Maggi chicken cubes, and a bag of onions. Another shelf is lined with plastic bowls, spoons, and a pot.

But Khan’s tidy kitchen sits in the middle of a small Mussafah junkyard that doubles as a labour camp for him and another 100 men. For Khan’s friends, his Thursday night dinner is one of their few pleasures – a good meal before their only day off.

The second article was in fact a column by Mishaal Al Gergawi. Below is an excerpt:

These labourers come here to work out of need not want. Believe me, most of them would rather be back home with their families — it’s not like they hang out at Starbucks after they get off work anyway! And yes, obviously, their compensation here is substantially higher than they would receive in their home country, which is why they are here.

Yet you hear people saying: “They are so lucky they are here; it’s not like they are hungry or cold, and they will get their pay eventually.”

So let’s see if your average corporate executive would forgo his or her pay for a few months till their employer lands a major account — would they feel they were lucky to be fed and housed?

Both articles very well described the ground reality. I hope some day UAE is lauded not for its super structures but for the quality living standard people living on its soil enjoy, irrespective of their race, religion & income. Or am I asking for too much?