Sitting between glittering urban skylines and towering stone minarets, the Gulf countries are a striking amalgamation of old Arabia and new globalization. A modern day melting pot of countries and cultures, this region's unprecedented economic growth would have been impossible without the contribution of its immigrant communities.
The largest group of such migrants hail from the Indian sub-continent. Over 8 million Indians live in the Middle-East. Of note, an estimated 70 percent of them work in low-skilled and low-wage jobs as construction workers, janitorial staff, or as domestic workers. Over the years there have been thousands of documented cases of labor and human rights abuses against this vulnerable population. Their voices have often gone unheard.
However, more recently, there has been a concerted effort by the governments of these Gulf nations, the Indian consulates, and importantly, social workers, that has significantly ameliorated the situation. In this project, we hear from many such stakeholders, from state officials to abused workers, in an effort to represent the truest realities on the ground.
