More than 2,000 workers housed in cargo containers
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
Dubai: More than 2,000 workers are living in containers in Al Aweer, Gulf News has learnt. There are more than 100 containers, each measuring 40 feet in length, 7.6 feet wide and 8 feet high. These rows of containers are kept on the premises of camp 8 and camp 9. Each container is divided into two sections, with eight workers in each half. The inside of the containers have a plywood finish. Bunk-beds occupy most of the space, leaving little room for the occupants to move around. The room also has a small table, pots and pans and a television set. The workers said they did raise the issue, but to no avail. The workers said they were shifted to Al Aweer eight months ago from Sonapur where they all lived in a proper company accommodation. “Our company does have a proper accommodation for workers but now company staff lives there. We got shifted here. “Currently we are building villas after which we will be shifted. All that the company needs to do is to shift the containers along with us,” said a worker. Each room has an exhaust fan and an air-conditioner, and a fire-extinguisher for every three containers. There are toilet and bathroom facilities in different containers. There are additional taps out in the open for washing and bathing. The kitchen area, however, is made of plywood. A separate container is exclusively kept for those workers who fall sick. Electricity is provided by a generator that runs 24 hours, and drinking water is brought in by tankers. The entire premises is fenced and visitors are only allowed in if they submit their labour card to the security guard at the main gate. Additional security guards are placed on the premises to ensure harmony among the different nationalities. The majority of the workers living there are Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. The security guards are all Nepalese. Gulf News tried to get in touch with the company, but no one was available for comment.
From The Gulf News
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter
Dubai: More than 2,000 workers are living in containers in Al Aweer, Gulf News has learnt. There are more than 100 containers, each measuring 40 feet in length, 7.6 feet wide and 8 feet high. These rows of containers are kept on the premises of camp 8 and camp 9. Each container is divided into two sections, with eight workers in each half. The inside of the containers have a plywood finish. Bunk-beds occupy most of the space, leaving little room for the occupants to move around. The room also has a small table, pots and pans and a television set. The workers said they did raise the issue, but to no avail. The workers said they were shifted to Al Aweer eight months ago from Sonapur where they all lived in a proper company accommodation. “Our company does have a proper accommodation for workers but now company staff lives there. We got shifted here. “Currently we are building villas after which we will be shifted. All that the company needs to do is to shift the containers along with us,” said a worker. Each room has an exhaust fan and an air-conditioner, and a fire-extinguisher for every three containers. There are toilet and bathroom facilities in different containers. There are additional taps out in the open for washing and bathing. The kitchen area, however, is made of plywood. A separate container is exclusively kept for those workers who fall sick. Electricity is provided by a generator that runs 24 hours, and drinking water is brought in by tankers. The entire premises is fenced and visitors are only allowed in if they submit their labour card to the security guard at the main gate. Additional security guards are placed on the premises to ensure harmony among the different nationalities. The majority of the workers living there are Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. The security guards are all Nepalese. Gulf News tried to get in touch with the company, but no one was available for comment.
From The Gulf News
Better yet, get a load of the 'ass-whoopin' this commenter had to share:
Containers are designed to transport and store goods and as such are not
suitable for human occupancy. I request the company to kindly provide them with
proper living facilities.ClaytonChennai,India
5 comments:
They showed that in 'Syriana'. Too bad the movie was otherwise incomprehensible..
Really liked the film, but it was all over the place. Anyone who watched it needed a bit of a history refresher beforehand.
Wow, I didnt even realize they were living in those containers until now. *d'oh* but that was a great film in my opinion. You felt the emotions every step of the way.
:|
that is SO... what do u say to that? i dont know!
is there some kind of humanitarian organization for workers? there should be... you should see the treatment that workers here in Kuwait get.. these guys are in heaven in comparison!
That's what exactly came to my mind when I saw those photos Basil, another tribute to the genius of this movie, Cairogal's absolutely right, some historical context is essential for the movie and some time in the middle east would help too, the same goes for Three days of the Condor,
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