Mirage in desert oasis

7/26/2019 Mirage in desert oasis

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WORL IN REVIEW

Mirage in the Desert Oasis

Forced L abor in Dubai and the United Arab Em irates

O

ne hun dred fort^'-three of the 192 countries in

the world are involved in human trafficking.

T ho ug h ou r ci\-il7.ation is currentlyflirting

for

the second time with globalization, en hanced

technologically and scientifically from

its

Hrst experim ent in the pre-V\'orld W ar

I

era, it nevertheless

carries the vestiges of its most primitive beginnings. Ifthe

lasting stone monuments of the ancient world were built by

slave labor, it seems that th e m ode rn w orld is experiencing a

forced labor of its own. Approximately 6()0,0(){)

to

800,000

men, women, and children

are sold across international

b o r d e r s a n n u a l l y , w h i l e

m i l l i o n s m o r e

are

sold

within the ir own borders

to feed the d e m a n d sof

industry and the sex market.

O t

the

peo ple trafficked

across international b orders,

80 percent are women and

gir ls

and 50

p e r c e n t

are

minors , a ccord ing

to the

2005 Trafficking in Person s

Report (TIP) .

^

1 h i s phenomenon

of

t ra f f icking, whi le glohal ,

can be witnessed most par-

ticularly

in the

confluence

of wealth and people that

is Dubai, UAF.. After

its

t ransformation f rom des-

er t , Dubai isnow known

throughout

the

world

as a

leading luiancial center

of

the Midd le East, enjoying

prestige

and

fascination

wor ldwide

as

well

as a

An ae r ial v iew oft he ma r ina area of DubaJ.The emirate s v igorous

cons truct ion campaign rests on the forced labor of migra nt work-

r s who often toi l und er squal id condi t ions and deadly hea t.

d y n a m i c c o n s t r u c t i o n

campaign

at

home. Fifrv^ percent

of

the world's cranes are

currently active

in

the E mir ate, servicing projects to taling

roughly US 100 billion, twice the foreign investment

of

rising star China. Home to the world's only seven star hotel

and a sti'ingof m an-m ade island creations, Dubai's glitter and

wealth hides a more subtle aspect of its impressive growth:

the forced labor

of

migran t workers

in

both construction

and domestic work. And while the emirate has turned

its

attentio n to this issue, it must face the realit}'that behind its

Staff w rit

JESSIC C P L

Migrant

Workers

and

orced

abor

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estima

that around 12.3 million men, women, and children wo

wide iire enslaved in bonded Uihor, child labor, forced lab

sexual sen iuide, and involuntary servitude. Th e ready sup

of vulnerable populations for human trafficking is a logi

resultot the post-War economy:asthe w orld grow s e

richer, the schism between the wealthy and the impoveris

widens. Trafficking victims often come from deep pove

Some are sold outright by their families. Other families

fooled into believing t

their children are recrui

for programs that will p

vide them with food, clo

ing, and oppor tuni t ies .

the areas of origin for m

victims,

50 to 60

pe rc

ofthe population makes

average salary

of

USSl

p

day. An indu stry of econ o

ic extremes, trafficking g

erates an estimated USS*

billion in revenue each ye

Human trafficking ism

frequently associated w

scxiial senitudc, which

i

cludes forced prostitution

children as well as wom

Ihe aspect

of

forced la

in human trafficking, ho

ever, is less recognizctl a

acknowledged.

Of th e^O Oto 125 m

lion people living outs

the i r count ry

of

b i

the ILO es t imates t

120 million

of

them

a

m i g r a n t w o r k e r s .

F

TIP 2006 c i ted

the

Philipp ines, Indon esia, Banglade

an d

Sri

Lanka

as

leading suppliers

of

migrant spoo

countries where theoppo rtunity' costof leaving home

find work

is

low. 'Fhe leading demanders

of

m igrants

contrast are wealthier Asian and Middle Eastern countri

mainly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Malays

and Kuwait. Combined, these countries demanded 13.5 m

lion migrant workers. Dubai, with a population that is on


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WORL IN REVIEW

a m lange of nation alities. Indee d, it is estimated tha t 160

o incometo

inthe form of rem ittanc es, me n primarily from

in Dubai to join the

tiTJCtion iniJustiy. Tn 200 5, the re wer e 304,983 reco rded

orkers in the city. On the street, Hindi and U rdu

Yet the pathway these m en follow to find em ploym ent in

a m ore unlawful tren d. "De m and " countries like

AE typically send recruiters to areas with a high supply

nitoring of work site conditions are not easy to enforce.

num ber of com mo n them es runs throug h forced labor as

a

A current growing phenomenon

in Asia and die Alidille East is lahor trafficking tlirough

of

Several factors transform this legal transaction into

ofslavery. Recru itmen t fees, although bannedby

in

many "supply coun -

offoreign workers unde r the titleof

or

"em ploy me nt fee." Often

in the

ofU S$4,000-11',000, thefeesarepaidto

or to

the com pany hirin g the wôrkers

h e recru iters, who already receive a commission for

doubly benefit from the advanced fees. Though

AE law charges employers

a

fee for each foreign lab ore r

t into the coun trj ' and requires that the recruiters pay

mirates, employers openly flout this law, instead placing

by

Hu m an Rights Wîtch q uoted

a

recruiter

as

to

construction comp anies who apply for their visa.

It is

Ican't putitonawritten con tract; it's

it

all the time."

By charg ing low-skilled, low-income workers before

are

ofdebt incurrence among

heir contract wôrkers. Debt, which can take between two

a l l ) ,

has been

ed as a precursor to involuntary servitude amo ng mig rant

itmust be com bined with other formsof

isnearly tletermine d before they even

Once laborers have arrived in Dubai, labor agencies

avarietyoftactics tha t will

the

conditions

of

employment

in acontract. Should the m igrant worker protest,

by extension the righttoremaininDubai, are exceedingly

real formigra nt workers who lack knowledgeofthe hos

countr\ ''s language. Em ployers use this situation to their ad-

vantage by restricting access to the outside world. Passports

airline tickets, and identification papers are frequently con-

fiscated upon arrivalat the worksitethough these action

are prohibited by UAE lawleaving the m igrants virtually

shackledtotheir em ployers. With ou t identification, faced

with a lang-uage barrier, and subject to acute povert\\ migrant

workers havenochoice buttoendure forced involuntarj

labor and servitude onamo nth ly salar\' of anyw here from

US$100toUS$250.

And while theem ploy ers ' thre ats l isted ahove seem

grave, they remain among the grievances cited by nearly al

laborers in D ubai, regardless of their obe dience o r insolence.

Eow wages, withheld wages,

safetj'

con cerns, and poor hou s

ing are "custom"in Dubai .In a eountr\ ' withanaverage

salary

o

US$2,100

per

mo nth , laborers, th ou gh fleeing

the dollar-a-day Hie in their home country, are nonetheless

burdene d w ith m inimal salaries. Th e U AE does not provide

a minimum wage, thougha 1980 mandate dictates thati

should by law. And yet, those who receive low salaries are

more fortunate than those who receive none at all , another

illegal "custo m" in Du bai . Em ploy ers often justifi,' their de-

eisiontodeny wages by com paring the actionto a form of

collaterala security to guarantee that their employees will

remainonthe job. This practice has becomesoprevalen

that many workers have protested against the withholding

of wages only when the time period has exceeded one anti a

half or two month periods.

Migrant Majority

Ethnic composition of the United rab E mirates

i3 Ai-ai

expatriates

T

1 8 UA E

nationals

4

Europear?

6 5 Asian

Foreigners constitute over 80

o

the UAE's population

o

4.6

million.The country's private sector depends almost entirely on

foreign workers. Migrant workers fr om South Asia, who compose

5

o

the population,have endured harsh working conditions.


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In addition tt> wage issues, foreign migrant laborersin

Duhai iace extreme work and living conditions whichare

dangerou s for their health and mental well-hcing. T he Dubai

chapter

of

the A \'orld Safety O rganii'.ation has citeil hea t-

related illness as the principal health-related is.sue faced by

laborers. With temperatures soaring to highs of 120 degrees

Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) combined with intolerable

humiilit}-,

Dubai takes atK'antage

of

its lowe r tourism rates

durin g the sum m er mo nth s to increase construction. Yet tliis

decision leaves work ers w ith

a

high risk of heat stroke and

dehydration. In July and .August

of

2004 , . ,000 co nstru c-

tion workers were hrought

to

Rashid Hosp ital. And while

the MinistryofLahor responded to this matter in 2005by

banning outdoor work from 12:3Opni to4:30pni during lulv

and August, pressure from contractors ledto ashor tening

of die rest period to only 3:00pm.

For sixt)' hours aweek, migran t labo rers often work

untler these conditions with only one day's rest. WTien the

day ends, the migrants find that for themselves, the global-

ized, unified world that enabled them to secure em ploym ent

to entlure, women choose

to

view their employment

a

temporary remedy to a desperate circumstance.

It is not only th e wom en w ho seek work: emp loyers a

prefer female labor. Wom en are assumed to be mo re simp

minded and obedient. They are less likely than their m

counter^iartstorebel against adverse work ing co nditio

From a mu lti-national cor po ratio ns perspective, fem

workers are preferred because the pay for women is less th

die pay for men. hallmark of globalization is the aim tow

efficiency and cheap input; the ready supply of women a

the eager demand by corporations meet happily in the ar

of forced labor and modern day slaverj'.

But Dubai is not catering to women tor factories. Inste

its wealthy Em irati citizens cull foreign w om en for dom es

work. Much like their male counterparts, domestic work

are often recru ited th rou gh legal means, registering for v

underasign reading Dubai Cares, which hangs in

arrivals lounge of Dubai International Airport, l la ilin gp

marily from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and

Philippines, these women are desperate and impoverish

A hallmark of globalization is the aim toward efficiency and

cheap input; the ready supply of women and the eager demand

by corpo rations m eet happily in the arena of forced labor

in another country is condensed

to

the factory and d orm i-

tor\' that houses migrant workers, frequently provided

by

the employers. These structures, always overcrowded,are

sometim es surroun ded by barbed wire, can lackaconnection

to water and sewage systems, and are located off-site on the

edge of the desert. Som etimes, ho m e may be several hou rs

away from the work site. Food

is

either available thro ugh

food allowances

or

through access

at a

canteen provided

by the employers. Suicides are not unheardofamong the

migrant worker community', with84 in2005 upfrom70

the previous year.

Domestic Workers

Despite the hardshi[s ol Dubai's male migran t con stm c-

tion workers, these men still benefit from a community.

Dubai's women migrants, by contrast, find themselves iso-

lated, alone, and often abused as domestic workers.

Though a significant portion of trafficking victims are

not the tiecisionmakers in the transaction,

a

current global

phenomenon involves women consciously deciding to seek

emp loym ent abroad. Wh ile cultural dictums expect women

to manage the household, approximately one-third of house-

holds wo rldwide lack a male breadw inner.Itis the w oman's

responsibility, therefore, to provide for her family. Mothers

and young girls take the initiati\ 'e to migrate, carrjnng with

them the prospects

of

eventually earning

a

better income,

fleeing a lifeofmisery,or suppor t ing a family. Though

depending on their new home for a better life and money

send back

to

the famiK'. How ever, once

a

domestic wor

arrives

at the

house,

she is

legally under

her

employ

complete co ntrol, since the sponsoring em ployer also ho

the stringsto her visa.'I'his fact isespecially significant

the situation ofdom estics,forUA E labor laws, like th

in countries such as theUnited States,do notrecogn

domestic workers as members

of

the labor force and t

grant the employer complete responsibility and control o

the new arrival.

'Fhough exceptions certainly exist, domestic work

frequently endure any number

of

hardships, included

oft referenced forced eonfmement, restricted commu

cation with those outside tlie home, physical and men

abuse, oppressive debts, and work und er threa ts. Togeth

these circumstances define another hidden genreoffor

labor

in

Dubai. . '\nd yet, unlike tlieir construction wor

counterpa rts, these wom en suffer the additional burdens

conununalism and sexual harassment.

Debts and wages become a major tl iemeoft hed

mestic's situation. Often, these women enter Dubai w

exorbitant fees anil debts, whieh place them

in a

posit

in which they feel obligated tocont inu e wo rking u

their salary can become their own.It is unclear how m

domestic workers

are

paid, tho ugh research

has

revea

that in Dubai, and tbeU AE in general, wagesare of

based on the nationality of the woman . A repo rt by H um


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to300 andfor

asignofgreater

fortbe househ old as tbe mo re intelligent and b etter

ducated of the migra nts. Th es e salaries pay for work wbich

veragesto 15 hours eacb day, often with no specified day

r bour of rest.

In additiontolong ho ursatlow pay, dome stic workers

uffer a spectrum of abuses. Psychological abuse is certainly

be most common, witb verbal insults and threats pei-vading

he ho useholds. Additionally, mi-

ran t dom estics suffer a range of

eprivations, whetheritis a lack

of sleep, insufficient food,and

poor living con ditions. E leven of

tbe 26 Filipina domestic workers

interviewedinthe U AE in 2006

by Hum an Rigbts W^atch re cord -

ed a depriva tion of sufficient nu -

trition. Rosa Alvarez,a Filipina

domestic worker, was quotedas

saying, I do n't want to die from

starvation and toomuch work.

Breakfast was water and bread,

tbere was no luncb. Tb ey would

say I canonlyeatbread. I lost

five kilogram s eleven p oun ds| in

tbree mo ntbs . Finally, sexual ha-

rassment an d assault, spawned by

the already precarious position of

these wom en in isolation in their

bomes and hampered hy finances

and tbreats against their person,

i)ccurs u idelv tbro u^b ou t. With

2007, the UAE government hired over 200 new inspectors

for a total of roug hly 425 labor law enforc em ent inspectors

trained for three monthsin labor law, labor violations, and

identifying trafficking.

Internationa lly, the U.AF is

a

member of die ILO and ba

ratified six of the eigh t central I LO con\ entions . It bas rati-

fied conventions relating to the elimination of forced labor,

of discrimination regarding emplo\inent, and of child labor.

It has also ratified conventions relating to bours worked

labor inspections, and nigbttime work forwomen. These

A migran t worker

in

Dub ai sleeps on

sidewalk near

construc t ion s i te. Despi te

laws tha t nom inally guarantee work ers rights, enfo rcem ent of these rights is woe -

fui ly lacking, while reco rds of abuse are rarely ma intaine d.

nowhere torun and langu age barriers against the m, th ese

women have little form of protest.

ttenipts to

Cm tail

Trafficking and buse

In response to unre st and allegations in recen t years, the

U;VE has done a fair job in pro viding tbe formal legal struc-

tures designed to prevent m ost fonns of trafficking. Mu eb of

tbe attention paidtotrafficking in D uba i relate stotbe sex

trade. Indeed, the reasons cited for the UAF's placement on

tbe 'Fier V\';itcb List by tbe T I P 20 08 related to its failure

to demonstrate an increased effort to eliminate tbe trade in

2007, witb particular emphasis on sex trafficking.

Witb regard to labor, the UAE has since 1980 included

a provision requiring a mininuim wage law. Its Labor Law

N u m b e r 8 of 1980 is a federal law subject tocont inued

amendments and modifications byministerial resolutions

regulating labor relations across the UAK. These laws enu-

merate legal tenus of recruitiuent, maximum working hours,

and age limits.Itcites tbe rightstoannual leave, ove rtime ,

occupational safety measures, and bealtbcare provided by

cmplfH'ers. Notabb', though tbe Ministiy of Labor imposes

tbe federal law, tbe iniiividual emirate s can adop t their ow n

acts represent a growing recognition among tbe Dubai and

UAE governments that tbe situationofmigrants dem and

a response. Quoted by the New York lim es in 2007, Emir

ates' labor minister .-Mibin Abdulla Al Kaabi stated, I 'm

not saying we don't havea problem. T here is a problem

We're workingtoixt . Neve rtheless, hesitancies remain

and Al Kaabi madeit very clear that W e wanttoprotec

tbe luinorit) ', which isus tbe F.niirati a re20percent o

Dubai 's population.

And indeed, tbesituation in Dubai basproved tba

simple paper laws are not enough toenforce tbe righ tsof

mig rants . 'Fbe UAK has chosen no t to ratifi, IL O C,on\'en

tions 87 and 98, which p rovide Freed om of Association and

Protection of tbe Rigbt to Organize and tbe Rigbt to Org a

nize and Collective Bargaining, respectively.Ithas chose

not to ratify these, despite the fact that the 1998 Declara tion

of tbe Fund amen tal Principles and Rights at W'ork p ro\ide

that all ILO iTiembers implement aworker's fundaiucnta

rights, which includes a right to assemble and strike. Addi

tionally, wage disputes, tbough provided witb a legal outlet

are generally considered

a

private ma tter. Labo rers rarel

receive the ear oftbe government . M ohamm ad SalehAl


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WORL IN REVIEW

asof2006, addressed the shortcoming softhe M inister of

Labors ability

to

pro tect laborers and

to

maintain records

of abuse, quoted in a Dubai publication in2006, arguing

that the Min istryofLabo r has no coordination with the

Dubai courts

or

an actio n plan

to

protect laborers ' r ights.

It also lacks information about the companies' status. Even

when the m inistry' submits th e laborer's files, we find many

important documents miss ing, such

as

labor contra cts.

The situation is even more acute with regard to women in

domestic labor situations, where the UAE remains woefully

deficient

in

its capacity

to

protect.

t

is true th at the UAE

allows that within the first three monthsofthe work con-

tract, the employer and employee have tlie righttorepor t

problems

or

request changes

in

their wo rking condition

to the recruiting agency. Nevertheless,it is custom tliat

recruiting agencies discourage this practice, even choosing

not to disclose information about wo rk rights to their female

migrant domestic workers.

If codified laws are not sufficient,

it

is clear that socio-

cultural shifts are necessary to alter the situation for laborers.

of

A ll

Mig rant Workers and M embe rs of Th eir Familie

well as the ILO conventions listed above. The internatio

conimunitj ',

mean while, should assist both supply co

tries and dema nd countries

in

preventing trafficking

monitoring flows of migrants.

Implications of the Global Economic ownturn

Th ou gh reports out of Dubai in Octob er 2008 decla

that D ubai was safely w eather ing the g lobal econo mic cri

hy November, other reports were suggesting a diffe

stor\ ' . Major property developers have begun handing

pink slips and reevaluating their demands

for

recruiter

the Dubai share index dropped four percent in one day a

foreign investors withdrew 90 percentofthe ir funds h

in UAE banks. Faced with these circumstances,

in

addi

to rising infiation and a decreasein tourism, airline pro

and oil sales, Dnbai officials and CEOs have been reassess

their building and growth plans for the emirate, recogn

ing, as chief executive of Dubai-based Deyaar Developm

C o . Markus Giebel noted in the Herald Tribu ne, that w

The people of Dubai must be made aware that the conditions of

their workers,..violate a basic human dignity.

Th ere is currently li t tle N G O and civilian involvementin

the stniggleforgreater rights. Th e peopleofDubai must

he made aware that the conditions of their workers, both

in

constru ction and domestically, violate a basic hum an dignity.

Greater activism, whether by someoftheir ownorby the

workers themselves, can eventually lead

to a

revolution

in

perception which will accept the ideas espoused in the Uni-

versal Declaration of Human Rights that all people are equal

in dignity. So long as the countiy of origin determines the

wage of a domestic worker, the re is little hop e for p rotection

from the people.

(Concurrently with the transformation in popular mind-

set, the government must step in with a stronger arsenal

to

implement justice. T he Cou rts must keep clearer records of

commercial behavior in the Emirate. T h e govern ment must

increase the capacity of

i t s

investigative apparatu s. It can no

lon ger h e suffient for officials to excuse away their ab sences

In - citing minor acliievements, as does 2006 head of die W ork

Permit Dep artm ent in the Ministry of Labor, Abdulla Saeed

Saif Bin Suloom Alfalasi, who contende d t hat W e have set

upah(jtline for w ork erstoreport com plaints. W hat more

can we do? We are not angels. Dom estic workers must be

considered part of the work force and granted these rights.

Additionally, the UAE should consider ratif\'ing the follow-

ing conventions:

the

Intema tional Labo ur Organization's

Co nve ntion N o . 15.5 on occu pational safetv- and h ealth, th e

International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of

All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and

happ ens in Du bai is very linked to the financial crisis. Th

is actually no way to swim against the stream.

Perhaps, amid its planning and evaluating, Dubai w

realize that the econom ic dow nturn will affect m ore tlian

affluent Em iratis und er its pun 'iew. If the wealthy mus t tak

fall, tlien th e huntlreds of thousand s of mig rant constru ct

workers will certainly feel the crunch , stuck in a cou ntry

their own, perhaps still tiedtojobs th at will beorare n

delayed, their passports confiscated and their wages withhe

Though Dubai may choosetogra nt fewer visastofore

workersinthe coming \ 'ears,it is still left with the mas

migrants already within its borders.

Poor and desperate, Dubai 's laborers have,in rec

years, demonstrated an as yet unseen activism and confide

in protest, despite the prohibititjn against labor unions.

2006, thousands of workers riotedin the streets of the c

demanding improved working conditions and wages. T

inciilent, though uniqueinits niagnitu tle, was not isola

as workers acrijss the Emirate have demonstrated increas

unrest.

These demonstra t ions ailoccurred, ofcourse, w

Du bai was still in full b loom , before th e financial meltd ow

The economic crash seems

to he

running

in

the oppo

direction ofmig rant consti-uction wo rkers' willingness

demand their rights. In an Emirate with 80 percent forei

born inhabitants, many ot whom are engaged in the recen

stunted manual construction labor, oneortwo fewer g

or sailboat-shaped skyscrapers may be the leastofDub


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Mirage in desert oasis

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Transcript of Mirage in desert oasis