Abu Dhabi: Sad, but not surprised, is the overall feeling of the many workers located in Musaffah’s industrial area after a fireleft 10 workers dead. The building where the fire broke out was still being guarded by a police patrol on Saturday afternoon, with the damage caused to the building as a result of the fire clearly visible.
Gulf News spoke to some of the workers in the area, with some of them reluctant to give their opinion on the matter, and others who didn’t want to be named. Those who did speak on the matter said that the accident was waiting to happen due to poor safety conditions, and the incident has left them feeling sad and, in some cases, afraid.
At least 10 people were also killed and eight others injured in the fire that broke out early Friday morning.
The fire broke out at a commercial building in Mussafah industrial area of Abu Dhabi at 3.44am. The upper floor of the two-storey structure had been modified with wooden partitions in 11 rooms, and witnesses said that more than 115 men lived there. Each inhabitant was reportedly paying about Dh300 for a bed space.
Muzamul Haq, 35, from Bangladesh, said, “We are feeling very sad about what happened because there were many people who died and got hurt, so this is very bad. I knew some of the people in the building, we used to see them, they used to come here. They were from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and so we feel sad because we have lost some of them now.”
On the safety conditions of the building, Haq said the safety standards were not good, “The living conditions of the building were very bad, many people were living there, and there was only one door for people to go out so that was a problem. What was happening is also not allowed, to let the people live like that above the shops, so the authorities should take care of this and not let this happen. There should be more regulation to make sure this does not happen and that the owners are obeying the rules.”
Another worker, Mohammad Sajad, 34, from Pakistan, said that for many workers, they had no other option but to live in such poor conditions. “For some labourers this is the only type of accommodation they can afford, and some owners take advantage of that and so they have to live like this, there isn’t another better option for them.”
“Steps should be taken to provide safe and good accommodation for the workers. The government has already made laws for these matters, but the problem is that many owners either ignore it or they don’t care, so the government needs to come in more strongly to enforce the laws and make the owners abide by these. When you see some of the buildings you cannot be surprised that something like this happens, you can see with your own eyes it is not safe, so it is not a surprise,” he added.
Sajad also said he felt very sorry for the victims and their families, “I am very sad and can only pray for them, but if I am feeling this way, then what about the family members, how must they feel now? For many of the families, these men were their only source of income, so what will they do now? It is a very sad situation.”
Mohammad Haq, 45, from India, said, “The living conditions were very bad and unsafe, this was waiting to happen, and it can happen again at other similar types of buildings with the same conditions, it’s not surprising.
“Poor safety led to these people’s deaths. Owners must provide the workers with better and safe conditions, and the government should regulate this. Everyone wants better living conditions but this is often down to the owner, and sometimes workers don’t have an option and they have to live in unsafe conditions, which is against the law and so the authorities need to keep an eye and make sure owners are following the rules.”
Haq also said he felt bad for the workers because some of them were labourers just like him, “It is sad, and also frightening, because I am just a labourer like many of the workers who died in the building, so this could have been me. I got a bit afraid after I heard what happened because it is very frightening.”
Sami Zaatari is a trainee at Gulf News
