MUSAFFAH // Thousands of workers are living in makeshift dormitories and potentially unsafe conditions in the industrial town of Musaffah, according to the authorities. Abu Dhabi Municipality has been working with the police and the Ministry of Labour to persuade business owners to secure living spaces for their workers outside the industrial area. The decision was made following inspections by the three Government bodies to the warehouses in Musaffah. "We found that a group of these warehouses were used as accommodation that doesn't comply with civil defence requirements," said Salim al Mamari, the executive manager of services at Abu Dhabi Municipality.
In the past week, two serious fires have broken out in the town, one of which gutted workers' accommodation, killing one person as he slept. Workers stood crying as they watched firemen putting out the fire, in the knowledge they had lost all their possessions, and in some cases their savings. The corrugated metal accommodation, supposed to be a storage area, was above a tile-cutting factory. A green sign in Arabic at the factory's entrance said: To let, 600 square metre warehouse.
The building belonged to Thermo LCC, a mechanical engineering, electrical and plumbing company, and labourers say at least 100 people lived there. However, workers are concerned they will not be able to afford a place to live if new regulations are enforced. Matin, an Indian, 30, who pays Dh250 a month to live with 35 men in a warehouse just a few blocks from the Thermo LCC building, said: "I don't know any other place. I can't find a cheaper place."
Muzaffar Khan, 54, echoed his concerns. He lives with three other people at the back of a workshop. The place is too small to accommodate beds. Instead, the tenants all work just outside the shop and sleep on thin, worn-out mattresses. "The municipality says this [living in warehouses is illegal], but we can't find other places to live," said Mr Khan who has lived in the UAE for 30 years. "There should be at least a Dh500 salary increase If I were to rent another place. Otherwise, going back home is better."
Mr Khan and his co-workers do not pay to live in the shop. Shakil Ahmad, 23, shares the place with Mr Khan. He sleeps in the shop's attic and he needs to climb a wooden ladder to reach it. He did not hear about the municipality warnings against living in warehouses and insisted that in the two years he has spent in Musaffah he has only worked hard at his job at the scrap shop. "This is the only place I know," he said when asked if he would move somewhere else.
The light industries section of Musaffah could be easily mistaken for a city slum. Satellite dishes sprout from the top of low-rise buildings, personal belongings hang from windows and clothes lines stand on the sides and the backs of scrap and repair shops. One building has been turned into workers' accommodation at the back of a service station. To enter the building, you have to pass a group of unused, dusty cars and navigate a dark, narrow alley reeking of rotten water and cigarettes.
Beneath the staircase are two massive air-compressors, feeding the service station. Workers hang their blue overalls on the walls surrounding the two engines. At first glance, there is nothing unusual about another building, the Rony Miah repair shop, with fridges and air-conditioning units lined up at the front. However, inside, there are at least six people living on beds without mattresses in the attic, made of plywood and steel. The workers refuse to criticise their living conditions because they say there are no better options. "In Abu Dhabi, you can't live in a shop, and in Musaffah, you can't, said Rony, the shop owner 28, who also lives in the attic. "What am I going to do?"
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