Dignity of labour

Today I saw something that reminded me of how cruel humans are, especially those who harp on the dignity of labour and how modern they are. These are the same people that claim to keep Muscat one of the cleanest cities in the world. They employ cheap labour (mostly from India) on a salary of about OR. 45 a month ($ 116) and stuff them all in extremely pathetic living quarters which aren’t good enough for animals. 6-10 people habitate in a room of 5mx5m and there’s a toilet for every 20 people. Anyways that’s not what I was talking about. I am talking about something even more cruel than that. And I am talking about the Muscat Municipality. I saw 10 of those same men cramped in the backside of a double cabin pickup (which cant hold more than 4 people or 2 goats - and I say this by experience). The opening of the rear side was covered with a steel mesh giving an appearance of a cage. The men did look literally as though they were caged in that pickup. The pick up drove through the city with the foremen and driver (both Omanis) sitting in the front side enjoying the air-conditioned ride without a concern for the poor souls at the back. This is the same municipality that banned the use of the pick up’s as taxis a few years ago citing the danger and discomfort it causes to the occupants, replacing them with the minivans and yet the municipality subjects its own men to this horrendous journey. Shame on them.