Dubai: To mark International Labour Day, around 25 Dubai residents worked as construction workers for two days to raise awareness about the challenges they undergo while building the city.
The event, which was organised by Nashama UAE Volunteers, also aims to support and thank the labourers for all their efforts in constructing some of the world’s most iconic skyscrapers in the world.
International Labour Day also known as World Labour Day and International Workers’ Day is an event that takes place on May 1 every year to celebrate the achievements of workers.
The UAE Ministry of Labour announced earlier its plans for a 10-day celebration to mark International Labour Day on May 1.
A group of 25 volunteers, took part in Nashama UAE Volunteers’ project, which aims to raise awareness about the major role labour workers play in building the country and the importance of recognising them.
“We worked from 8am to 5pm for 2-days to perform maintenance work on a mosque in Deira. The labour workers were there to supervise us and tell us what to do. We worked outdoors on expanding the fence and performing other construction work,” said one of the volunteers Maitha Ali, Emirati aged 24.
Maitha who is also the Head of Media at Nashama UAE Volunteers said over a 100 letters written by the community thanking the labour workers were delivered to the labourers by a drone that released them from the sky.
“The experience was truly inspirational; we work in air conditioned offices, while they perform hard labour in the heat. Now when I see them I will truly appreciate them because I know what they go through,” she said.
Another volunteer Mohammad Al Saadi, also an Emirati, who works in Dubai Police worked as a construction worker for two days despite having a broken leg.
“I wanted to take part in the project because I wanted to serve my community, I also wanted to enjoy the team work with the other volunteers and I wanted to see what it its like to work as a labour worker,” he said.
Al Saadi said although he worked for two days as a labourer, he does not believe it is enough to truly experience the hardship that they are going through because at the end of the day they are working in a foreign country away from family and friends.
One of the youngest volunteers, 10-year-old Emirati Dana Al Jasmi said she wanted to take part in the event because is part of the values of Islam.
“I wanted to get closer to God through charity work and I also wanted to help the labour workers who work very hard to build our buildings.”
Dana said she worked with cement when reconstructing the mosque’s fence.
Another volunteer, Jordanian Niveen Badr, 42, who works in training and development said she took part in the event because she likes volunteering and supporting her local community.
“I took part in the project with my husband and kids. We all enjoyed the experience although it was not an easy job, as we used hammers to remove the old walls. We worked as a team with beautiful energy to save the falling mosque,” said Niveen.
