Demonlition. BIG time

Literally over night the demolition gang have moved into the Boys school primary buildings and begun work. There are at least 50 workers in this demolition gang visible now, and I suspect more not working on this shift. It would appear from the progress they made over night that they are working around the clock demolishing the rooms and removing items. Since yesterday afternoon they have shifted all the furniture from the buildings into the central courtyard. Fingers crossed it doesn’t rain! All the doors, windows, AC’s and other fittings have been removed from the classrooms, and stacked aside. In a country where items are frequently discarded and new always purchased I am delighted to see these fittings may well be used again so that’s a plus. On the negative side the health and safety of these men is sadly ignored. As you can see from the photos some have work boots, however there is not a hard hat in sight, that probably should read - on site. The dust is thick and the noise loud however these lads beaver away, no face masks, no ear muffs or goggles. Arab men wear coloured head scarves for a multitude of reasons, and one of the pluses in doing so is you can wrap it around your head to use against the dust. For me it is sad to see a workforce so exploited. Conversely the merge wages these men earn is far greater than that which they would earn in their own countries. I also reflect and think back to my youth, holding the logs and feeding them through a saw mill for the family firewood. Hard hats, safety glasses and ear mugs were not present then…… May be, just maybe, as the UAE is a developing country and on my return visit in 10 years time I may well be pleasantly surprised to see health and safety at the forefront of the building industry. Inshallah.