Research: The Case of Urban Informality in the UAE
The trash in Everest is second news, this has to be the first.
I had written a report while at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies, London) for one of my assignment and it seems that this matter seems more relevant than ever. While my area of research was in Sonapur, Dubai, the same type of framework applies. Long story short, Arab nations in hopes to boost their visibility and utilise their newly acquired power from oil in the global stages are exploiting workers of third world countries. Since the original work was purely academic, I will make this as user-friendly as possible.
This article considers urban informality as a new way of life. Especially with a focus on labour migrants’ workers in the hot, humid and inhumane working conditions.
Question: What is urban informality?
Informality is the opposite of formal or formality and with this thinking it falls usually outside of state apparatus leading to a lack of care, usually being categorised and labelled as “others” within the city. There are academics (David Harvey, Yasser Elsheshtawy and Salwa Ismail, Ananya Roy etc.) who argue that although the concept of informality arose out of the “favelas” and “shanty towns” or “slums” they are now becoming more prominent in the Middle East, this has been mainly due to liberalization/ globalisation and capitalism. The latter being that growth will be dictated through the logic of money and accumulation. However, the concept of “informality” has since evolved to describe behaviours, actions and regulations are outside the law, usually for the group(s) of the population that is within the shadows of the urban life. They are not outside of the conversation, in fact, they hold the conversation and without them, the city would not survive.
It is this concern of space that interests most scholars and how state builders, foreign investors are finding new ways to exploit such spaces in order to exploit and from their eyes “accommodate” new groups of peoples that inhabit these areas. These modifications are where the migrants usually dwell and live out their life, in a city where the migrant population over exceeds the local population.
Newspaper in question:
At least 1,400 Nepali workers died while constructing football stadiums in Qatar
(Ref: Himalayan Time Report)
On a popular discussion website, Reddit users have voiced some of their critical observation:
“.. I bet some of these people fought in Prachanda's war only to die in Qatar building a stadium for a game most Nepalese can't afford to go to…”
(Prachanda, a nom de guerre meaning “fierce” who launched the insurgent campaign to abolish the absolute monarchy rule in Nepal, and in the end to relative success).
…These Arab states are shameless in their abuse of workers from poor nations. It should be regulated and those responsible in situations of abuse etc charged and jaile... Unfortunately, this will never happen…
Such realisation only arrives when people have felt these emotions first hand, from returning family members who carry the burden of the hardship of being in a new/unfamiliar environment.
What do these locations look like?
In Dubai, the story is the same. The highlights area in red is Dubai, while the yellow is the airport that brings in a haul of these migrants. Dubai has been overwhelmingly criticised as an area of imprisonment with systematic abuse, breaching of contracts and wretched living conditions. With nothing stopping them these exploitations are further exacerbated by the kafala (visa sponsorship system) which requires the foreign party to have a local sponsor in the UAE, usually, the job of the employer is to look after the whole process. However, for the migrants, which makes up 88.5% of the UAE population, this process is often filled with corruption from the agents in their home country and on arrival bounded by exploitative contracts.
These labour camps are not located on the outskirt of the central city. They are very visible when you arrive by plane in the city but there are often more subtle ways in which migrants are pushed out of the central city. The one which we usually associated Dubai with. The area that I conducted the research was called “Sonapur” (translated as the “City of Gold” in Hindi) bringing into visibility what scholars like Kanna calls “unhappy spaces” where “busloads of sleeping low-wage construction workers” becomes a common sight.
The physical location of these labour camps, in the oil-wealthy nation, is explicitly distanced and separated by the Dubai Creek (highlighted, above) that is accessible only by car, bridge crossing, metro and underground tunnels. Secondly, is the airport, where access is only possible through car vehicles. Being close to the airport allowing for easy navigation to pick and drop off migrant workers.
It was an observation, on my arrival at the airport to explicitly observer migrant operators identifying their labourers by a common piece of clothing such as hats, T-shirt or a company group leader (below is a photo of migrant workers at Tribhuvan Airport (in Nepal) awaiting their plane to go to one of their migrant destination).
Third, the connection of highways, due to the city being geared towards consumption, pedestrian circulation is hardly visible as access to the centre of the city is only accessible by the use of automobiles and other forms of public transport. Elsheshtawy calls this a “geographical distancing and biased infrastructure development”.
Lastly, is the link of public transport which also represents a marker of distinction. Whereas the public transport in well off areas is regulated and clean most of the public transport that connects to the labour camp to the city are locally bounded. For example, to get to the centre of the city a worker would have to walk a distance of 600m to get to a bus station that would take them to the nearest connecting Metro station then changing multiple times before getting to their destination. Thus, many people in labour camps prefer to stay inside citing traffic and the time constraints as the main reason for their leisurely mobility.
What is the actual living condition like, the practice of every day?
Sonapur is a desert enclave, established on the outskirt of the capital has uncommon sites, where busloads of workers are being hauled based on their extended, often illegal, shift patterns. With the rise of labourers in migrant areas of Sonapur the condition of these working class is often overlooked. Categorically, they have their own position in the UAE workforce. Therefore, not all foreigners coming to the UAE are treated equally.
Their living conditions are also a form of segregation, the occupied space in the semi-public is defined by men wearing less formal clothing. In contrast to the “symbol of prestige” that is displayed in the city centre such as Dubai, an area that highlights the space of modernity. The former area is described as “a city of labour camps” filled with “gloomy faces” that have been isolated and excluded from the city. An outsider observing will notice the camps similarities resembling that of concrete barracks littered with scape metal and rusty machinery. The living condition from the outside, where migrants are pushed away to seek shelter in the lowest of the land. Within these shelters are where one can capture the limited microcosm of the city’s population. Where spaces that migrants occupy are marked with signs of the working class to socialise in their leisure hours. A gathering space where people meet, especially married bachelors living out for short term basis. These vibrant spaces are given their own ethnic names. Catered for the Bangladeshi population is the Bengali Bazar where old models of second-hand chargers, formal shoes and fruits are sold by barefoot vendors. This creating of a vibrant space, therefore, slips into the planned city. Usually, the accessories bought within these markets are sent back to the labourer’s home country. The local post office then becomes the facilitator of gifts and remittances, located 1.3km walk away from the camps. However, for their personal wellbeing, the living conditions are symbolically represented with only one piece of furniture taking up most of the available space, their bed. These contested shared spaces are typically thus not conducive for sharing. Despite these lacks of personal spaces, migrants persist on personalising their spaces beyond utilitarian terms. They serve as a tangible reminder of producing a sense of “continuity over time and space.
The practice of exclusion within groups of people is very tangible. For example, there is further segregation that occurs within these labour camps. Those who work in construction sites usually labourers from poor backgrounds than those who work in security sectors. The latter work groups are handsomely rewarded for their employment. Whereas, the low paid migrants, being the sole economic provider bears the burden of harsh ethical treatment as the state assumes minimum responsibility for the employee’s welfare. In the same light, the presence of eateries becomes a common leisure establishment due to its affordable pricing to accommodate the low-income population. For those who have inhabited the camps in terms of their contracts are able to afford beyond their local spaces. For this group of people, there is the option of venturing into the ethnic market. Calderia notes that these spaces as the “outside” for “those who cannot go in”. Those who cannot go in, are carefully calculating their daily expenses and rationalizing their decision on cooking rather than eating out and limiting leisurely pursuits.
So, what has been done?
The kafala system, which I had described- still persists. The situation for most migrant workers is not the priority. And I have no real solution at the moment in time but for the nation to realise, think and become more aware of the true consequence of their action in the everyday. The intention of this article was to highlight and make aware of such condition happening for not only Nepali workers but general workers who are considered the “modern day slaves”.
