Fri 15/05/09 09:24

Today we distributed some food, clothing, and housewares to a labor camp near Sharjah. It was fun, and I think we helped the workers a little, at least to let them know that some people care. I can’t, and won’t, take too much credit for the venture, because I was only there for the distribution of the goods. The whole process consisted of gathering the stuff, sorting it, and then bagging it for the distribution process and I really wasn’t part of that at all. I do feel fortunate to have been able to help at least in some small way though.

For those of you that don’t know what the labor camp is, it’s a building that is owned by a company that houses their employees. Maybe a good way to help visualize it is for me to describe the situation that many of these workers deal with. Most of the manual labor that is done in the UAE is done by workers from various countries. These countries are some of the poorest in the world and are the perfect labor force for UAE’s booming economy. These building are centralized in between Sharjah and Dubai and contain an estimate 500 buildings each with each building having probably about 150-300 workers. There are no women, and no parks or much of anything else. Most of the laborers come from either India, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka… at least the male workers. and it’s generally assumed that they can’t find work in their own country. They are paid very little and most, if not all, live in a single room the size of a small bedroom with five other men. Many of these rooms don’t have air conditioning, bathrooms, or kitchens. They are only a room with six bunkbeds. This is no way a political statement at all, just merely stating what I’ve seen and what is common knowledge.