SHARJAH // While tens of thousands descended on Downtown Dubai to see in the new year, others chose silence over fireworks and made their way to the desert. Among them were 500 workers from the GECO Mechanical and Electrical Company, who were treated to a barbecue and celebration by their employers.
"It was a way to give back to the workers," said Saaduddin Ahmed, a senior administrator at the company. "They work all day. And do overtime to earn more."
Labourers make do with the basic necessities most of the year, and splashing out on New Year's Eve was not something they could afford, he added.
So on the outskirts of Sharjah, GECO workers feasted and enjoyed their own celebrations. In this uninterrupted horizon, away from the busy city centres, all that could be seen were dozens of men standing around bonfires, rubbing their hands to keep warm in the cool desert air.
"It was the first time labourers had mingled openly with the bosses," said Syed Haider Mehdi, a 32-year-old labour camp supervisor. "When I heard about the outing, I thought it would be something small, but it was beyond my expectations."
The workers were mostly from Pakistan. They had come to the UAE to support their families back home, which prevented frivolous spending.
For Salman Karim, 24, the new year offered an opportunity to make some extra cash by putting in extra hours at work.
Some who would have liked to have celebrated said that they did not have the means to do so. Their life was restricted to the construction site during the day and labour camps in the evenings.
The workers were in a festive mood as they got into buses from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Fujairah for the long trek to the desert.
Shakir Ahmed, 39, an air-conditioning technician from Mumbai, sang popular love songs from Bollywood movies as he boarded the bus in Musaffah.
He said he was happy to be with friends, but missed his family, especially his six-year-old daughter.
At about 2am, as they returned to their camps, the workers declared the event a great success.
ffaruqui@thenational.ae
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UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
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'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 626bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,050,000
On sale: now
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now