She is also the creator of “Taste Culture” events, which uses food from the countries of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon, art and music as a means of raising awareness to Lebanon’s cultural diversity, sharing culture and combating racism.
Simba is available for photo and print writing assignments in Africa and the Middle East.
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Usman is 43 years old and comes from the coastal city of Pasni in Pakistan. In his city, he was a bicycle repairman. He liked his job but with three mouths to feed, it was time to make more money. In early 2007, Usman decided to travel to Dubai where he was hired as a mason assistant.
Eight months into a two-year contract Usman suffered a severe injury to his left calf. It occurred when a crane, on a multi-story construction site, was hoisting a large crate full of electrical equipment. The crate had a nail sticking out of it, and it literally ripped his calf to shreds as it passed by him.
“I was dealing with the mortar mixture on the site, mixing it up in order to put it down on the brick, and then the crate passed by. I felt this horrible sting in my leg, and I was lifted a little off the ground…the next thing I know, I was bleeding and I went into shock. I could not feel my leg and could not see it because of all the blood,” says Usman.
The construction company took Usman to the emergency room where they patched him up. Later he was given a plane ticket back to Pakistan and told that he would receive no further assistance in Dubai. Before the injury Usman earned 700 Dirhams per month. The construction company allowed him to return for 520 Dirhams as a cleaner for the labour camp.
“If I didn’t come back, then I would make no money, and my family would suffer,” adds Usman. “I had to come back. But I can’t work the same things that I used to work.”
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Migrant workers in Dubai have been the hardest hit by Dubai’s economic crisis. Many workers are being fired via text while on vacation. Labour camp in Dubai. ©Simba Russeau
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Thirty years ago, Dubai, the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates, was a small fishing port. Now, it’s one of the fastest growing cities in the world, largely driven by a construction industry reliant on low-paid South Asia workers. The decline of the dollar has impacted the workers earnings, since the Emirati dirham is pegged to the U.S. dollar. Copyright Simba Russeau.
