A group of blue-collar workers in Downtown Manama pause for tea and gossip at a roadside stall. Such gatherings are common in the old part of the Bahraini capital, particularly during the weekend and a prolonged holiday!
Source: Tea Time in Manama
This was two years ago – today! Whether in Bahrain or anywhere else in the world, nothing’s changed – nothing ever changes for this lot! And we, the “well-off” go around claiming we are doing our bit. But where is the evidence? Worth a thought!
It was May Day today. Time for all workers to relax, rest and contemplate. These are some pictures to show what they were doing today. There are also a few pictures showing what can pass off as their “livingaccommodation” – ramshackle structures they call home.
It’s for the readers to make what they can of these images!
All I can say, it was just another day!
Blue-collared workers in Bahrain, a very large majority of them from the Indian Sub-Continent, relax on a traffic roundabout at Bab Al Bahrain (the gateway to Bahrain) over the weekend. Thousands of such workers gather for two days every week to exchange news and gossip and spend time talking to their families, window shopping and looking for bargains.
Roadside workers sitting down to have a meal has always been one of the best sights anywhere. These men, coming from diverse backgrounds and of different nationalities, find time to get together as they take a break from work and present a picture of bonhomie, camaraderie and togetherness that can only come when they are ‘alone’, thousands of miles from their families.
This ramshackle doorway opens into a dilapidated staircase in Downtown Manama and is the ‘route’ to a bed space on the old run down building’s rooftop.
This is a “labour accommodation” where expatriate workers stay, paying a dollar a night for bed space.
They pay per use to sleep, without running water or electricity.
These are not only the so-called “free-visa” workers but also many who call it their “company accommodation.”
Sadly, human rights and government officials “see” this only after a major tragedy happens – and that happens quite often in the summer!
MANDEEPSINGS 