Dubai labour camp - Sonapur

Sonapur is a labour camp on the outskirts of Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The name Sonapur is Hindi and means "place of gold". It could not be further from the truth.
Whilst the middle and upper classes in Dubai enjoy a life of wealth and well-being, the workers who live in labour camps like Sonapur suffer under, what some call "modern slavery".
They are being brought to Dubai by agencies who sponsor them and give them a working permit. In return, each worker has to pay up to 12,000 Dhs to his agency.
Most workers don't earn more than 4 Dhs an hour.
With this they have to pay rent, food, the money the owe to the agency and if they can save a few Dhs, they send them back to their families in India, Pakistan and other asian countries.
Meat is a luxury here. Also one bed per person is a luxury to some.
Sonapur is one of the "nicer" labour camps. Still it's not a place tourists go to. Hence I had to go there.
I want these photographs to give you a first insight into the life and living conditions of these men. They are the ones who build all the big villas, skyscrapers, roads and whatever else needs cheap labour to be built.
I sincerely hope my work raises some awareness, as it is awareness that changes peoples views. And it is people who have the power to urge governments to do something to make this world a better place.
Thank you for watching!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Dubai
• Sonapour
• Sonapur
• Indian
• Pakistan
• labour
• camp
• Florian
• Ullbrich
• United
• Arab
• Emirates
• slave
• migrant
• worker

[82gall]

well its still better than condition of those workers who are making your cheap cloth and food every day . but they are not in your country and cant see them so its ok :)

[HellFox24584]

@82gall it would be interesting, to do a photodocumentary piece about these people as well I think

[HellFox24584]

One would think, that in a city like Dubai, which is in many ways more modern than most european cities, these conditions wouldnt have come about in the first place

[Sparksman2point0]

These poor laborers live and work in horrible conditions.Dubai is a city of evil capitalist filth built on the back of the workers.

[Clausewitzz]

Why dont they just put up sings at the workers camps with: Arbeit macht frei.

The only diffrents is they dont kill workers but exploit them untill they can no longer use them.

But in the end its just as bad.

[kirankjoseph]

@cry29sis I guess what makes Dubai worse than other places is the climatic conditions and geographic location. You literally get trapped there, I guess.

[Tommygun2683]

WTF? They have air conditioners. Can't be that harsh. Weak as piss.

[nrittam]

dubai.. the arabs themselves lick up to europeans

about pakistanis/bangladeshis, hoping for moslem brotherhood, well, lick my ass, that would be better

[cry92sis]

dubai is just heaven ......... and these r not really bad conditions there r worse conditions in india, china, etc ...... if this were bad conditions for them y wud the labourers stay there they could as well just leave they cannot b citizens of the country they can just do smthn illegal and get deported

[zipitar]

@nrittam

in no ways it is a crabby city with a huge debt i don't see that ever the royal family of dubai pay to the debt half

dubai is bad then london luxembourg , rome etc.

it canno be compared to the cities like singapore macau honkon etc.

afterall when oil will be dried then people will realize

the pain which converted a fukin desert into a worldclass city

[samuelpucci]

shame on u.a.e. !

[laldrich1013]

@my2dayur2mrw that music is a cover of a theme from the movie, Requiem for a Dream, original music by Clint Mansell. it's scary.

[ladedaddy]

Good on you for your attitude. Nice photography but I don't think you made your case. I know how these people are treated as I talk regularly to them. I don't think your pictures captured just how bad it is.