Fire breaks out at labour accommodations in Al Reef. The National
Fire breaks out at labour accommodations in Al Reef. The National

Dozens lose belongings in second fire at Abu Dhabi labour accommodation



Dozens of men have lost their belongings at a fire that gutted labour accommodation in Al Reef on Wednesday. It is the third fire in the area in nine months. The camp was home to 1,000 Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers employed by Dhabi Contracting company.

The fire broke out around 9am, said witnesses. Three hours later, Civil Defence were still containing the blaze. Workers believe about 40 rooms were destroyed. Dozens watched as their belongings burned.

“I don’t know how much, but the company will give us something,” said a construction worker from Pakistan who has worked in the UAE for 12 years. “Everybody lost something but some lost more than others. We are waiting here while the company does something.

He had lost Dh200 or Dh300 in the fire, which he had set aside to use for living expenses this month. He earns Dh1,600 a month with overtime, leaving his camp at 4am each morning and returning every evening at 7pm. He shares a room with seven other employees.

He was one of dozens of men gathered outside the camp at sunset on Wednesday. Seated on blankets with suitcases and bundles of the belongings they had saved from the flames, they sat on the rocky ground and waited for news from the company.

The fire spread quickly due to the wind, said witnesses. “I was in the room when the fire started,” said an Indian carpenter from Bihar who did not give his name. “I grabbed two or three items but could not get much because the wind was coming.”

He lost Dh500 in the fire. He earns Dh1,000 a month with overtime, working from 6.30am until 5.30pm with a 90-minute break.

“The company told us in the evening they will arrange something for us,” he said. “I still don’t know what but we will see this evening.”

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By the end of the day, the building they had called home was collapsing.

“Of course we compensated them for their belongings and we moved them to a new place,” said a company official.

On January 6, a second fire in the Dhabi Contracting compound destroyed the accommodation for another 200 employees. They said they received Dh100 and were moved to new accommodation in Dubai.

In April, 160 workers lost their belongings in another fire in Al Reef caused by an electrical short circuit. Following the fire, men relied on friends and colleagues to loan them money for food and essentials.

The official confirmed it the third fire at this labour camp. It was not specified whether the first fire was the April fire.

According to its website, Dhabi Contracting projects include Bateen Wharf, Umm Al Emarat Park, Al Falah School and Yas School.

Police said an official statement would be issued later.

The White Lotus: Season three

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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

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Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
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Test

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Roll of honour 2019-2020

Dubai Rugby Sevens

Winners: Dubai Hurricanes

Runners up: Bahrain

 

West Asia Premiership

Winners: Bahrain

Runners up: UAE Premiership

 

UAE Premiership

Winners: Dubai Exiles

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes

 

UAE Division One

Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens

Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II

 

UAE Division Two

Winners: Barrelhouse

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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
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Electoral College Victory

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Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Profile of Tarabut Gateway

Founder: Abdulla Almoayed

Based: UAE

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 35

Sector: FinTech

Raised: $13 million

Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.

The biog

Name: Fareed Lafta

Age: 40

From: Baghdad, Iraq

Mission: Promote world peace

Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi

Role models: His parents 

West Indies v England ODI series:

West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.

Fixtures:

1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown

2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown

3rd ODI - February 25, St George's

4th ODI - February 27, St George's

5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY

Wimbledon order of play on Saturday, July 8
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Centre Court (4pm)
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Timea Bacsinszky (19)
Ernests Gulbis v Novak Djokovic (2)
Mischa Zverev (27) v Roger Federer (3)

Court 1 (4pm)
Milos Raonic (6) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (25)
Anett Kontaveit v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Jared Donaldson

Court 2 (2.30pm)
Sorana Cirstea v Garbine Muguruza (14)
To finish: Sam Querrey (24) leads Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-5
Angelique Kerber (1) v Shelby Rogers
Sebastian Ofner v Alexander Zverev (10)

Court 3 (2.30pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Dudi Sela
Alison Riske v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
David Ferrer v Tomas Berdych (11)

Court 12 (2.30pm)
Polona Hercog v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Gael Monfils (15) v Adrian Mannarino

Court 18 (2.30pm)
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Petra Martic v Zarina Diyas

Credit Score explained

What is a credit score?

In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.

Why is it important?

Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.

How is it calculated?

The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.

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By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.

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By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.

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A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.

Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5