Dubai: They are drenched in sweat after toiling under the scorching sun for hours but won’t take a sip of water until dusk. Muslims fasting and labouring outdoors during Ramadan said it is faith that carries them through the long, hot working days.
There is no gorging on food and drink before fasting begins at dawn, the workers said. Some labourers head straight to their work sites after dawn, and work for six hours straight during Ramadan.
“No matter how much food and water you have at suhour, you’ll still feel hungry and thirsty, especially when you work hard like us,” said Bangladeshi mason Mohammad Sharif, 30.
Sharif, who has been a labourer in Dubai for eight years, said he drinks a 1.5 litre bottle of water at suhour and has some fruit and rice with curry.
“If you eat or drink too much, you’ll feel heavy and lazy. I work pretty much non-stop for my six-hour shift. I have to keep my duty to God and keep my duty to my job as well.”
They return to their rooms after midday, carried in buses without air-conditioning, ready to fall into bed for a siesta.
This recipe of extreme weather, tough work and fasting is all about faith.
“I never think about not fasting because of my work. It’s not easy but God gives you strength to cope,” said Pakistani courier Sabtain Mehdi, 24. He rides his bike from 9am to 6pm, clocking in some 200km a day.
“There’s heat from the sun, from the bike, the road, my helmet — it’s an ocean of heat. But I don’t concentrate on these. I concentrate on my work. When I stop to pray, the short rest and ablution with water refreshes me and keeps me going, physically and spiritually,” Mehdi added.
He has lots of water and some fruit at iftar and suhour for hydration and energy, and a modest meal of bread and curry.
“I’m not scared of fasting while slogging outdoors, as some people are. Fasting is about patience in the face of odds, and not about eating and drinking after sunset until you can’t move any more,” said Pakistani expat Abdul Qayum, 23, who changes and fixes car tyres.
He works outdoors from 8am to 2pm daily except Fridays. “I eat and drink modestly and give my body the rest it needs after work. There’s no special diet, tactic or secret to fasting long, hot days. You just have to be strong spiritually,” he added.
Bangladeshi bus driver Mohammad Alam, 29, even doubles his duty as a cardboard carton stacker for his recycling company.
“I used to be a labourer and load boxes in Ramadan so I know how tough it is. So that’s why I help my co-workers with the cartons,” said Alam.
“When Ramadan approaches, some workers get concerned about fasting in the summer. But when your thoughts are focused on sacrificing your desires for the pleasure of God, you don’t feel the thirst and heat as much.”
Alam said there had been a few days in the past five Ramadan seasons when he could not fast because of exceptionally heavy work outdoors. Muslim scholars say if a worker who starts the day fasting but fears for his health during the course of the day, can end his fast without blame.
