Due to the pandemic, and especially how long it continues despite some hopeful expectations, hundreds of expat laborers working in the UAE have been facing difficult and unsafe living conditions. A huge number of workers have been put off from their jobs, and are currently staying at camps with no income, with many of them still not able to travel back to their home countries.
Through a local radio program, Sharjah Police was notified that a group of workers were residing at a building under construction, in the deadly summer heat; inhumane living conditions by any standard. In response, Major General Saif Al Zari Al Shamsi, Commander-in-Chief of Sharjah Police, directed police to provide 280 workers with decent accommodation at Sharjah Police Academy and other facilities, in cooperation with Sharjah Charity International.
As part of their commitment to support community members and ensure their safety, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, Sharjah Police stated that they also coordinated with the workers’ embassies to facilitate a quick return to their homelands or change their status according to the UAE residency laws so they can work in the country.