Hundreds of illegal workers are sleeping in gardens and on benches in Satwa and Deira.
Some hold passports, while others have obtained emergency certificates in lieu of passports. Their hopes of making it home rest on getting free air tickets.
An estimated 1,000 workers from Andhra Pradesh, India stay in Satwa.
These workers were disappointed that Andhra Pradesh Minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir who was recently in the UAE with a delegation to facilitate the return of illegal workers home, had not visited them to understand their plight.
"Some of us tried to meet him during his visit to the India Club in Dubai but we were barred from entry," they said.
In Deira's Al Muteena Road, homeless illegals gathering inside the fenced palm grove is a nightly sight on the road next to the Sheraton Deira hotel. With tears welling in their eyes and clothes that reek of toil and sweat, they come with sad tales, hoping to be helped. Sweating through the summer nights, they still manage to catch some sleep.
Lying down on the benches, end to end, one's head next to someone else's feet, they try to get a good night's rest for another day of struggle. Others can be found lying on the wet grass or the cement.
Most of these people are illegal residents who are stuck here without decent housing, adequate income or healthcare.
Bashir, 29, from India, last slept in a bed seven months ago. He came to Dubai to work in a cleaning company but ran away after a dispute with his employer.
He spends the day wandering Dubai's streets. At night he heads to Al Muteena to sleep on the hard wooden benches.
"Sometimes I can work per hour, and earn enough for a meal a day," he said. "I am fasting, and at iftar I go to the mosque as I can get food to break my fast."
Bashir is excited to be going back to his country after receiving amnesty.
Ravi, 31, a father of two, left India and came to work as a domestic worker in Dubai but has been living on the street for three years.
He said: "Even if I get sick I can't get treatment but am awaiting God's mercy. Although I am treated as an absconding worker, sometimes I can find a job on daily wages, though often I stay the whole day lying on the grass with no work."
As his eyes filled with tears he added: "I am so happy that I am going back to my country to see my children without being penalised under the amnesty decision."
Mohammad, a Lebanese waiter at one of the restaurants in Al Muteena, said: "You can see these homeless people sleeping in the garden every day of the year. They always come and ask for food or money or, if we let them, work for a daily wage."
Meanwhile in Satwa, locked out of their rooms for defaulting on rents, as many as 750 workers sleep in a public garden and the parking lot next to the bus stand.
"Just 25 per cent of us hold jobs and can afford rooms on rent," said Prabhakar, who worked at various construction sites on daily wages till two months ago.
"Since we applied for amnesty and got our visa cancellations, most of us have not got work and therefore have no money to pay rents," said Rajaiah, adding that the caretaker of tenements there had locked the accommodation with their clothes and other belongings inside.
"He will not release them unless we pay rent arrears," he said. The workers have had to wear the same clothes and borrow some from those who still hold jobs, he said.
According to Dr Shashikala, Director of Al Misbah Medical Centre at Karama, at least 100 of these workers are very weak due to lack of food and need to go home soon for treatment and to be reunited with their families.
Young Boys Target Amnesty Seekers
"We are easy targets for boys in Satwa who harass us by snatching our mobile phones or other belongings or bursting firecrackers to disturb our sleep," said Tirupati M. Nagraj and Rajaiah Achakayla, from Andhra Pradesh, India.
Balraj, a helper at a construction site, said there were several instances of workers being assaulted in Satwa's lanes by young school drop-outs looking for money.
"Dubai Police have responded swiftly to our complaints but these boys have managed to run away whenever police patrols come," he said.
"They know that we are returning home and target us as we are not in a mood to retaliate in our present condition," added Tirupati.
Money And Home Lost To A Con Artist
Indian Gangapani, 50, sobbed while telling his story: "I was working legally with a contracting company in Dubai and had decent housing in Sonapur and no problem with my employer - but I have incurred a huge debt of Dh70,000 that I can't pay.
"Someone promised me that he could arrange residence visas for my friends for an amount of money. I collected the money and gave it to that person, but he has disappeared and I became homeless, chased by my friends and the police."
Gangapani doesn't dare apply for an outpass because he is sure he will land in jail.
