Photos: The Horrible And Mysterious Life, Migrant Of Dubai Live Which They Don't Want Tourist To Know

  

An Iranian photographer has captured the harsh lives endured by the migrant workers building Dubai's ever-growing skyline. Pictured is a huge dirty kitchen at the Sonapur camp where many of them live. The gas pipelines were built by the labourers and not subject to safety laws

Dubai is one of the fastest growing country in the world, in terms of economy, tourist and the likes. The southern Asian country has densely being populated by migrant who came in search of green pastures and a better life for themselves and their family but find only squalor, low wages and backbreaking work in stifling heat. 

(Farhad Berahman) An Iranian photographer shared the heart breaking pictures which he snapped  in Sonapur, the unofficial name for a work camp on the outskirts of Dubai, located far away from the luxury, soaring skyscrapers and vast wealth that the United Arab Emirates city is renowned for. Sonapur - ironically, the name means 'City of Gold' in Hindi - is home to more than 150,000 workers, mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. More pictures below the cut. And read more of the heart aching stories HERE

Farhad explains that several workers have their passports seized at the airport and are forced to work extremely long hours in blistering heat for very little pay. They are taken to Sonapur - which is not on the map - so they can be better controlled by employers.

He spoke to one labourer called Jahangir from Bangladesh. The 27-year-old has worked as a cleaner for the past four years and earns 800 AED (£139) a month and sends 500 AED (£87) to his family. He is forced to survive on what little remains. 

Farhad explains: 'People come to this land to make their future and benefit from the huge investments in construction and oil. There are many luxurious hotels and world-renowned structures which labourers have built over recent years. The employer usually takes their passport as soon as they arrive at Dubai airport and they are all sent to Sonapur. The labourers usually work 14 hours where in summer the temperature goes over 50C. Conversely, it is usually advised for western tourists not to stay outside for more than five minutes in summer.

According to the government's laws, work places should close down during this kind of temperature in order not to harm labourers and their health, but the government often does not even announce the right weather temperature.

  

  

Unhygeinic: A man guts fish in filthy conditions in a Sonapur kitchen

  

Grim living standards: Jahangir, 27, from Bangladesh, has worked as a cleaner for the past four years. He earns 800 AED (£139) a month and sends 500 AED (£87) to his family. He uses the rest of the money for rent and food

                      

Left, traders display their wares at Sonapur. Right, workers are forced to clean themselves using spartan sanitation

  

Labourers seek to make extra cash at the weekends by setting up food stalls and trading with fellow migrants

  

Every evening, the hundreds of thousands of young men who build the city are driven to vast concrete wastelands to work

  

Makeshift: Using a broken mirror and stationed next to a bin, a barber sets up shop

  

Shahroukh, who enjoys a better standard of living than other workers, gets ready before heading out to work at a decoration company

  

Their accommodation is cramped, filthy, sweltering and often overrun with vermin. Yet many can't leave

  

These labourers are working on luxurious boats in a shipyard in Jaddaf. These boats are used mostly for tourism and can fetch $3,755,000