Sharjah steps up fight with rubbish collectors

Yasin Kakande

SHARJAH // Authorities are urging residents to report anyone seen collecting cartons, papers or soda bottles from rubbish bins, as part of a clampdown on illegal residents.

Waste collecting is against the law and most of those involved are living in the emirate illegally, the Sharjah Department of Residency and Foreign Affairs said.

Department figures show 129 rubbish collectors were arrested in the first quarter of this year.

Brig Gen Dr Abdullah Ali Saeed bin Sahoo, the director general of the department, said such scavenging was a threat to the community.

"We ask business owners dealing in cardboard boxes to report those people," Brig Gen bin Sahoo said. "These boxes should only be collected by the environment company licensed to operate in Sharjah, called Bee'ah."

Ahmed Ali al Ketbi, an Emirati resident of Al Majjaz, said he had seen several people rummaging through his neighbourhood bins and thought it was offensive to the country.

"It all gives a false impression that there are many poor people here struggling to live, which is not true," Mr al Ketbi said. "If you are a legal resident of this country, you must have a job and all those scavenging in dustbins must be illegals."

But one Asian worker found collecting rubbish in Al Majjaz, who asked to stay anonymous, said he had a job as a plumber and collected rubbish to supplement his income.

"I do collect these bottles whenever I have some time or when there is no work at the company," he said. "I earn about Dh600 [US$163] every month from them to complement my Dh1,500 salary."

Rajesh, who earns up to Dh800 a month at work, said waste paper could bring in Dh500 more a month. He said he could earn up to Dh20 a day in his free time, all of which he sent home to his family in India.

"If [picking up waste paper] was given a visa, I would give up my job and only do this," Rajesh said. "I can earn up to Dh2,500 a month if I was only doing this job."

For others it is the only source of income. A man who identified himself as NoorKhan said he collected rubbish and sold it to recycling plants, earning Dh20 to Dh30 a day. He said he was paid Dh50 for a tonne of paper.

"Many of my friends make a tonne in three to four days but I make it in only two days," he said. "I try to work pretty hard, but also stay away from harm's way as a number of my friends have been deported."

Several recycling plants said they were not offering jobs or paying anyone illegally for materials.

Residents who see violators can call the Sharjah Department of Residency and Foreign Affairs on its toll-free number, 80080.

ykakande@thenational.ae

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Transparency key in fight against human trafficking

Dubai: Enhancing media coverage on human trafficking and training journalists to ensure accuracy of information when writing on the subject was identified as some of the best ways of fighting the crime at a global level.

The views gained prominence at a Human Trafficking and Media Conference that concluded on Tuesday with calls for greater transparency in the context of human trafficking cases.

Experts discussed the issues of human trafficking and the role of the non-Arabic media, electronic media and importance of pictures with regard to human trafficking coverage. Speakers on the second day of the two-day conference discussed the role of non-Arabic media.

Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News, highlighted the imported nature of the crime but stressed that the issue posed a minor challenge in the UAE. "We have more significant problems, such as demographic structure, which is one of the causes of human trafficking in the UAE. Human trafficking crimes are entirely exported to the UAE, including buyers, sellers and victims," he said.

Journalists' challenge

Ahmad also highlighted the challenges facing investigative journalism in the UAE. "Crime stories are always appetising, but this issue has many restrictions which requires the cooperation of all parties involved in the investigation. We also need specialised journalists in chasing and covering this kind of crime who are not available for the time-being."

He called for setting up a hotline to report cases of human trafficking and to initiate training courses for journalists on how to report human trafficking issues and news. "I hope this conference turns from a general forum to workshops that offer guidelines on what should and shouldn't be done regarding the human trafficking issue."

Dr Hessa Lootah, Associate Professor at UAE University, drew attention to issues related to the image of women and children in media. She said pictures of little girls wearing heavy make-up or posing in seductively could result in an increase in sexual assaults against children.

"When people see these pictures, the message delivered to their subconscious is that these girls are women, and the subconscious is what dictates our actions," she said. "As a nation, we have very little awareness of the visual components of pictures and messages delivered not through the eye, but through at the subconscious level," she said.

Sensitivity aspect

Visual media is a picture, not just information. For example, when talking about terror, news channels show pictures of Arabs and Muslims, which sets their image as terrorists in the brain, she said. "We must be aware of the messages we send and give special care to the media and its directions," she said.

"When it comes to human trafficking, I care about prevention, rather than treatment of the issue. I believe that all efforts should be directed to combat poverty and tackling the reasons that make big countries go to war, because war is the cause of many crimes," Dr Hessa added.

Media must step up

Experts recommended enhancing the role of the media by providing accurate information on human trafficking cases, and training specialised journalists who must have legal awareness about the issue. The media must also protect the dignity and privacy of the victims when providing coverage.

Recommendations included coordination with media attaches in UAE embassies to follow up the news published in other countries about the UAE and coordinate with media bodies that publish them to underscore the UAE's interest and provide correct and clear information.

The hotline

8007283 will be available in six languages — Arabic, English,Urdu, Russian, Filipino and Bengali — and will be operational round-the-clock seven days a week.

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