Slavery still the norm in UAE

Dubai, where East meets West and where, if you own a construction company, you are in the money. Sorry to say that this melange of American high rise, Mayfair opulence, and Indian influence now resembles the Costa Del Sol of the 1980's. It is one big building site. The favourite saying here is "Dubai will be nice when it is finished". The meaning behind this hits you as soon as you exit the airport: a massive construction project to put in a railway system means total chaos for all those attempting to arrive and depart. This sets the scene for all the other massive construction projects over town and out to sea - yes, why not build a series of man made offshore islands resembling a map of the world just because you can?! Oh! And why not build the tallest building in the world for a laugh?! Hey! Don't forget to throw in the largest shopping mall outside the USA, complete with snow ski slope, and something akin to Disneyland next to the Formula 1 racetrack and you begin to get a picture of Dubai.

But there is a dark side. Very, very dark infact.

Almost all the construction in the Emirates has been done by cheap labour from South Asia. Most of them have been here for years, made to live in unhumane conditions (upto 12 people crammed into one tiny room). For these migrants, who came to this place hoping for a better future for their families, not getting paid for months on end is the norm. Their passports are held so they can't go back, they are beaten up, treated worse than animals basically. Many have committed suicide when they couldn't take it anymore.

Just makes you sick doesn't it. I've read so many stories of this type in the 3 months that I've been here already.

Here's one from BBC of this poor dude who killed himself cuz he wasn't paid for a few months, had debts at home in India to pay. The full story in local papers actually mentioned that he had gone to his supervisor to ask for like a fiver (less than £1) so he could get some tea or summat. But the supervisor bollocked him. The dude goes back to his room, hangs himself. Read it.

Oh and there's more. How about tying up children onto the backs of camels in races cuz the kids's screams will make them run faster. Illegally kidnapped or 'bought' children from South Asian countries. You guessed it, it is a regular practice here. Read more on AntiSlavery.org