Stories of blue-collar expatriate workers using their earnings in the UAE to break out of the cycle of poverty are commonplace, although few of them do so as spectacularly as Aejaz Ahmed. The 27-year-old economics graduate from Pakistan had been working as a cafeteria deliveryman in Abu Dhabi when he won the Smart Idol singing competition and discovered a new career in music.
More common but less remarkable are stories like that of Santosh Chauhan, also 27, an electrician whose remittances to his family in India are their sole source of income. He sends Dh900 of his monthly Dh1,400 salary to them, paying for his father's medical treatment and his sister's education. What Ahmed, Chaunan and countless millions of other blue collar workers in the UAE have in common is that their earnings are changing lives in their countries of origin.
These success stories serve as both a demonstration of the opportunities on offer in the UAE and also a counterpoint to western media reports that focus on the workers’ living and working conditions. Such stories fail to acknowledge the millions of people who have been able to break free from poverty because one or more of their relatives chose to work in the UAE.
Remittances made by this country’s 2.2 million Indians residents to their home country amount to $15 billion (Dh55bn) per annum, a staggering figure by any estimation. The good that these remittances achieve when they flow to countries across Asia is undeniable. Being able to pay for an education for one’s children or siblings will inevitably afford the recipient greater opportunities in life.
Of course these benefits should not be used to excuse substandard conditions for workers. Last week, officials from the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi acknowledged the need to develop labour camps, ensuring that they meet international standards.
The chairman of the British Museum, Sir Richard Lambert, conducted a visit himself this week to assess workers' conditions on Saadiyat Island and praised what he found. If standards are kept high, jobs in the UAE – even if low-paid in comparison to the West – will continue to be the difference between poverty and hope.
