Cameron Sinclair: The refugees of boom-and-bust

Translator: Helena Bedalli Reviewer: Dita Bytyci

A few years ago, my eyes were opened

Pak vjet me pare, u njoha

to the dark side of the construction industry.

me anen e erret te industrise se ndertimit.

In 2006, young Qatari students

Ne 2006, studentet e Qatar

took me to go and see the migrant worker camps.

me cuan te vizitoj kampin e punetoreve emigrante.

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

Qe atehere kam ndjekur ceshtjen emergjente te te drejtave te punetoreve.

In the last six months, more than 300 skyscrapers

Ne 6 muajt e fundit, me se 300 shumekatesh ne ndertim

in the UAE have been put on hold or canceled.

ne Emiratet e Bashkuara Arabe, jane pezulluar ose anulluar.

Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings

Mbas titujve te publikimeve qe flasin per keto ndertime

is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker.

eshte fati i punetoreve te ndertimit, shpesh te kontraktuar.

1.1 million of them.

1.1 milion nga ata.

Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan

Shumica nga India. Pakistani, Sri Lanka

and Nepalese, these laborers risk everything

dhe Nepali, keta punetore rrezikojne cdo gje

to make money for their families back home.

per te fituar para per familjet ne vendin e tyre.

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

Ata i paguajne nje ndermjetesi mijera dollare qe te vijne aty.

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

Dhe, kur arrijne, e gjejne veten ne kampe pune pa uje,

no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.

pa ajer te kondicionuar dhe i konfiskohen pashaportat.

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

Ndersa eshte e lehte ta vesh shenjestren tek zyrtaret lokale dhe autoritetet e larte,

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

99 perqind e tyre jane punesuar nga sektori privat.

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

dhe prandaj, ne jemi pergjegjes barazisht ne mos me teper.

Groups like Buildsafe UAE have emerged,

Grupet si Buildsafe UAE jane shfaqur,

but the numbers are simply overwhelming.

por shifrat jane shume te larta.

In August 2008,

Ne gusht 2008,

UAE public officials noted

zyrtaret e EBA publikuan

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

se 40 perqind e 1098 kampeve te punes ne te gjithe vendin,

had violated minimum health and fire safety regulations.

kishte shkelur rregullat minimale te shendetit dhe sigurise se zjarrit.

And last summer, more than 10,000 workers

Veren e kaluar, me se 10 000 punetore

protested for the non-payment of wages,

protestuan kunder rrogave te papaguara,

for the poor quality of food, and inadequate housing.

ushqimit te keq dhe strehimit te papershtatshem.

And then the financial collapse happened.

Pastaj, ndodhi kriza financiare.

When the contractors have gone bust,

Kur sipermarresit kane falimentuar,

as they've been overleveraged like everyone else,

te mbytur ne borxhe si gjithe te tjeret,

the difference is everything goes missing,

dallimi eshte se gjithshka ka humbur,

documentation, passports,

dokumentat, pasaportat,

and tickets home for these workers.

dhe biletat e kthimit per keta punetore.

Currently, right now, thousands of workers are abandoned.

Tani, tamam ne kete moment, mijera punetore jane abandonuar.

There is no way back home.

Nuk mund te kthehen ne shtepi.

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

S'ka menyre qe te kthehen dhe s'ka prove te mberritjes.

These are the boom-and-bust refugees.

Keta jane refugjatet e bumit dhe deshtimit.

The question is, as a building professional,

Pyetja eshte, si profesionist ndertimi,

as an architect, an engineer, as a developer,

si arkitekt, si inxhinier, si zhvillues,

if you know this is going on,

nese je ne dijeni qe ndodh,

as we go to the sights every single week,

sic shkojme ne kantjer cdo jave,

are you complacent or complicit

a je pjesemarres

in the human rights violations?

ne shkeljen e te drejtave te njeriut?

So let's forget your environmental footprint.

Le te harrojme pricipet ambientaliste.

Let's think about your ethical footprint.

Le te mendojme per principet etike.

What good is it

C'te mire kemi

to build a zero-carbon, energy efficient complex,

te ndertojme nje kompleks ekonomik ne energji dhe impakt zero,

when the labor producing this architectural gem

nese puna qe prodhon kete perle arkitekturale

is unethical at best?

eshte joetike ne rastin me te mire?

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

Kohet e fundit me kane thene qe i kam hyre nje rruge te veshtire.

But, quite frankly, on this issue,

Por, sinqerisht, ne kete ceshtje,

there is no other road.

nuk ka rruge tjeter.

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

Te mos harrojme kush po paguan vertet cmimin e krizes ekonomike.

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

Dhe ndersa shqetesohemi per punen tjeter ne zyre,

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

projektin tjeter qe do sigurojme qe te mbajme punetoret tone.

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

Te mos harrojme keta njerez, qe vertet po vdesin per te punuar.

Thank you.

Falemnderit.

(Applause)

(Duartrokitje)