United Arab Emirates impressions - Ras Al Khaimah
‘The construction is a mismatch of materials which looks like they could be locally found or left over from the construction sites, this assumption is based upon what I saw and the fact that there is no government help to maintain these structures. Most of them are in very poor conditions almost in ruins, the residents have made obvious attempts to try and repair their houses, but it looks like they have limited resources.’
United Arab Emirates impressions - Ras Al Khaimah
‘The rubbish covers the streets like a blanket, after talking to a local resident who had lived there for 31 years I had more of a insight to their way of life. He complained to me about the rent being increased yet there was no government or help from the sheikh to improve their sanitation…their drainage…the rubbish on the streets. I walked into a clearing in the centre of Ras Al Khaimah which had houses along the periphery, yet in the centre of this clearing was a rubbish mound. He told me how the children don’t have a local school to go to, and that if you have a car you can drive the children to a public school further out. The children suffer from health problems from playing in the rubbish, because there is nowhere for them to play. But how do you draw attention to this, when most of these children do not even legally exist.’
United Arab Emirates impressions - Ras Al Khaimah
‘The lanes are cluttered with rubble; they are narrow to maintain privacy like a maze only the occupier can find his way around. The windows will look in on the lane on one side yet the houses on the other will not have any windows this is to prevent overlooking. For a outsider the streets of Ras Al Khaimah can feel unsafe and dangerous even, however this may not be the case for the people who live there…I saw children playing hide and seek in this lane.’
United Arab Emirates impressions - Ras Al Khaimah
‘Ras Al Khaimah could be described as the ‘slums’, the one storey buildings house a workers community in poor conditions. The people I came across were Pakistani and Bengali Muslims, some of them with families also living in these compounds. The endless electrical poles with their tangled lines running from house to house like a spiders web through these narrow lanes which appear to be gritty and unsafe. These people have electricity, some have air-conditioning, so why do they not have the basics…where is the drainage system, why do they not have sanitation or garbage disposal?'
United Arab Emirates impressions - Fujairah
‘After my conversation with two Punjabi workers who coincidentally came from the same city as my parents I felt quite sad…they explained to me how they were housed in ‘tin cans’ rather then the mud brick housing which keeps cool in the hot climate. They told me that their work would never be recognised and as soon as they finish they will be kicked out of the area like they never existed. They described their current situation as desperate yet necessary all at the same time, they are there because they earn more then what they would back home, they have families to feed which they see every two years. It’s upsetting to see how these men work so hard but will be forgotten as soon as the work is completed…all that will be left is the brick and mortar which they worked so hard for.’
United Arab Emirates impressions - Fujairah
‘Fujairah restoration work is being carried out by foreign builders who acquire the knowledge and construction techniques through the rest of their team who are also foreign- coming from
United Arab Emirates impressions - Bastakiya, Dubia
‘Bastakiya the heritage town in Dubai feels and looks like a theme park, its been built to imitate the past, apart from one old house in which a family remains there are no people occupying the area …everyone else has moved on. You can pay for a ride on a camel, but again the environment is tweaked and controlled. Is it educational; is it a performance…and who is it for; could it be for the tourists or is it the indigenous people that visit this site?’
United Arab Emirates impressions - Dubia
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