Cameron Sinclair: The refugees of boom-and-bust

Translator: Matej Divjak Reviewer: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

A few years ago, my eyes were opened

Pred nekaj leti so se mi odprle oči

to the dark side of the construction industry.

in spoznal sem temno stran gradbene industrije.

In 2006, young Qatari students

Leta 2006 so me mladi Katarski študenti

took me to go and see the migrant worker camps.

peljali na ogled kampov delovnih migrantov.

And since then I've followed the unfolding issue of worker rights.

In od takrat sledim razvijajočemu se problemu delavskih pravic.

In the last six months, more than 300 skyscrapers

V zadnjih šestih mesecih je gradnja več kot 300 nebotičnikov

in the UAE have been put on hold or canceled.

v Združenih arabskih emiratih (ZAE) začasno ustavljena ali preklicana.

Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings

Za naslovnicami, ki ležijo za temi zgradbami,

is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker.

so usode gradbenih delavcev, pogosto pogodbenih.

1.1 million of them.

1,1 milijona njih.

Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan

V glavnem Indijci, Pakistanci, Šrilančani

and Nepalese, these laborers risk everything

in Nepalci. Ti delavci tvegajo vse,

to make money for their families back home.

da bi zaslužili denar za svoje družine v domovini.

They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there.

Posredniku plačajo tisoče dolarjev, da bi bili tam.

And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor camps with no water,

In ko prispejo, se znajdejo v delavskih kampih brez vode,

no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.

brez klime in z odvzetimi potnimi listi.

While it's easy to point the finger at local officials and higher authorities,

Čeprav je lahko pokazati s prstom na lokalne uradnike in višje oblasti,

99 percent of these people are hired by the private sector,

99 odstotkov teh ljudi najame zasebni sektor,

and so therefore we're equally, if not more, accountable.

zato smo mi enako, če ne celo bolj, odgovorni.

Groups like Buildsafe UAE have emerged,

Pojavile so se skupine kot je Buildsafe UAE,

but the numbers are simply overwhelming.

vendar so številke preprosto ogromne.

In August 2008,

Avgusta 2008 so

UAE public officials noted

javni uslužbenci ZAE ugotovili,

that 40 percent of the country's 1,098 labor camps

da je 40 odstotkov od 1.098 delavskih kampov v državi

had violated minimum health and fire safety regulations.

prekršilo predpise o minimalni zdravstveni in požarni varnosti.

And last summer, more than 10,000 workers

Prejšnje poletje pa je več kot 10.000 delavcev

protested for the non-payment of wages,

protestiralo proti neizplačilu plač,

for the poor quality of food, and inadequate housing.

slabi kakovosti hrane in neprimerni nastanitvi.

And then the financial collapse happened.

Potem pa se je zgodil finančni zlom.

When the contractors have gone bust,

Ko so izvajalci propadli,

as they've been overleveraged like everyone else,

ker so bili tudi oni prezadolženi, tako kot vsi ostali,

the difference is everything goes missing,

je razlika v tem, da je pri njih vse izginilo,

documentation, passports,

dokumentacija, potni listi

and tickets home for these workers.

in vozovnice za vrnitev teh delavcev domov.

Currently, right now, thousands of workers are abandoned.

Trenutno, ravno zdaj, je na tisoče delavcev zapuščenih.

There is no way back home.

Ni načina, da se vrnejo domov.

And there is no way, and no proof of arrival.

Ni poti in ni dokazov, da so sploh prispeli.

These are the boom-and-bust refugees.

To so begunci gospodarske rasti in padca.

The question is, as a building professional,

Vprašanje je, če kot gradbeni strokovnjak,

as an architect, an engineer, as a developer,

arhitekt, inženir, razvojnik,

if you know this is going on,

če veste, da se to dogaja,

as we go to the sights every single week,

ko gremo na gradbišča čisto vsak teden,

are you complacent or complicit

ali ste samozadovoljni ali sokrivi

in the human rights violations?

pri kršenju človekovih pravic?

So let's forget your environmental footprint.

Pozabimo torej na vaš ekološki odtis.

Let's think about your ethical footprint.

Razmislimo o vašem etičnem odtisu.

What good is it

Kakšna je korist od

to build a zero-carbon, energy efficient complex,

gradnje brezogljičnih, energijsko učinkovitih kompleksov,

when the labor producing this architectural gem

če se z delovno silo, ki gradi ta arhitekturni presežek,

is unethical at best?

ravna v najboljšem primeru neetično?

Now, recently I've been told I've been taking the high road.

Pred kratkim so mi rekli, da ne iščem bližnjic, da sem moralen.

But, quite frankly, on this issue,

Ampak, odkrito povedano, glede tega vprašanja

there is no other road.

drugačna pot ne obstaja.

So let's not forget who is really paying the price of this financial collapse.

Tako ne pozabimo, kdo v resnici plačuje ceno finančnega zloma.

And that as we worry about our next job in the office,

Ko nas skrbi naš naslednji posel v pisarni,

the next design that we can get, to keep our workers.

naslednji načrt, ki ga lahko dobimo, da obdržimo delavce,

Let's not forget these men, who are truly dying to work.

ne pozabimo teh ljudi, ki resnično umirajo, da bi delali.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)