Project Questions
1. Do people in other parts of the world know what’s happening (here & other places)?
I think the answer to this question will make for good material for a poem because it will bring about why the workers are this way. It is a reason for why the poem is being created- to teach people about this issue because they don’t know, and therefore cannot do anything about it.
2. Where do they come from? What is it like there?
I think the answer to this question will make for good material for a poem because ( if it’s worse) it will make the reader/ listener realize (and think about how) that it’s even worse where they came from to be living here. When the poem talks about where they come from it will set the mood because it makes them understand how bad the living conditions, etc. are.
3. How do they effect the rest of the world?
I think the answer to this question will make for good material for a poem because it makes the “concept” even deeper. It makes the reader wonder what would happen to the rest of the world without these workers. It gives a sense of fear [of what could happen in the future] to the reader.
4. What is their lifestyle like here?
I think the answer to this question will make for good material for a poem because it tells the reader how bad the workers have it here. It gives the poem a strong force behind it. It gives the poem a purpose and motivation.
5. Where else is this happening in the world?
I think the answer to this question will make for good material for a poem because it gives the poem a connection with something else. I t makes the issue [seem] more general, serious, out of control, and real.
Oh Yeah? Prove it!
· Use a variety of resource materials to gather information for a research topic
· Organize information and ideas from multiple sources in systematic ways
· Determine appropriateness of an information source for a research topic
1) List/ recognize possible resources
2) Discuss the sources’ reliability- why it would be trustworthy or not
* Al Jazeera website: Blood, sweat, and tears:
When I researched Al-Jazeera, I found that most believe it to be reliable, but sometimes feel that Al Jazeera is influenced by a certain POV. (To see one of the sites used, click here). When I searched for Al-Jazeera not being a reliable source, only 2 links came up, compared with a few pages of links when i searched for it being a reliable source.
Window 2 India: Indians in the Gulf: desperate diaspora?:
This site is trustworthy because I checked some of its information and I found it on other sites as well. With so many sources presenting the same information, it should be accurate.
Infoshop News: 500 Nepali workers died in gulf countries in 2007:
This is probably not a reliable source because under its title on the webpage, it says: arnarchist news, opinions and much more. Therefore all the info may be based on an opinion that isnt true. However, the info that I have checked with [to see if it exists on more than one source] is on other sites, and therefore probably reliable. There is a URL for a site at the bottom of this page that has all of the info there.
Ambe Recruitment Agency:
This company was mentioned in the Al Jazeera video. In the video it had negative information, but the website has positive information. This site probably does not contain accurate information, since it is trying to persuade people to come and work for them, and will make things sound better than they really are. However, I could use some of the info from this sight- the info about locations, and what the workers are originally told. But I won't use the info about living conditions, etc.
The Peninsula: Gulf, Asian states pledge to fight labor abuse:
While reviewing this site I found it didn't give much information that I didn't already have, and therefore I did not use it.
Qatar Embassy:
This site is probably reliable because it is an official embassy site just restating a law. However, I'm not going to use this site because its information does not fit in with my questions, and I cannot decipher the information it gives.
Qatar Sucks. com:
This site probably isn't reliable because it if just some random person, who obviously doesn't like Qatar, rambling on and on about how bad it is. But, this information might be true, because this person might just be giving the bad side of Qatar but they could still be facts. I won't be able to use this site because it is blocked on my computer.
The Official Website of The Philippines:
This site doesnt give good information for my quesitons.
Prol-Position: Construction Worker's Struggles:
This site is reliable- I checked some of the information and it was repeated by other sources.
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee: Activists Develop strategies to Protect Worker rights in Gulf Coast reconstruction:
[This source wasn't used because I had enough information already and I did not review its reliability.]
Daily News: Forum push for workers' rights:
[This source wasn't used because I had enough information already and I did not review its reliability.]
Migrant Rights in the Middle East: Striking Workers in Dire Condition:
[This source wasn't used because I had enough information already and I did not review its reliability.]
Gulf News: Ministry to shame firms employing illegal workers:
[This source wasn't used because I had enough information already and I did not review its reliability.]
RFA: Broken Promises:
This site has lots of information on working and living conditions for the workers and also gives information on how other countries are involved which will help answer some of my global questions.
Human Rights Watch: Migrants:
[This source wasn't used because I had enough information already and I did not review its reliability.]
half moon bay review.com : chineese children working . effect on rest of the world.:
This site is most likely reliable because there are comments underneath the given information, and the people writing the comments agree with what the article says. I have also seen the same information from other sources. With so many sources having it, the common information should be accurate because so many people feel confident enough about it to post it.
The Times of India: Living conditions hurt Indians in Kuwait:
This site might be good to use because it uses real interviews from the workers that are experiencing the situation. However, the workers could be lying because of anger toward their employer and the country in which they are employed.
Al Jazeera: Blood, Sweat, and Tears VIDEO:
When I researched Al-Jazeera, I found that most believe it to be reliable, but sometimes feel that Al Jazeera is influenced by a certain POV. (To see one of the sites used, click here). When I searched for Al-Jazeera not being a reliable source, only 2 links came up, compared with a few pages of links when i searched for it being a reliable source.
Regional Conference on Arab Migration in a Globalized World:
This site will probably be reliable because it is just repeating what was said at a regional conference. It will have material for my question about effects on the rest of the world.
India eNews:
This site is probably reliable because it uses info that other sites show as well. With so many sources having it, the common information should be accurate because so many people feel confident enough about it to share [post] it.
Country Studies: Sri Lanka Living Conditions:
This site's information that I used is found in other places as well, and is therefore most likely trustworthy if so many people reviewed it and decided to repost it.
3) Choose/ use best resources
Sources not used:
Sources not used because I had enough information:
Sources used:
4) List all the information and ideas gathered
Al Jazeera: Blood, Sweat, and Tears VIDEO:
-
$200 bil. from buildings revenue- construction contracts
-
workers mostly from India, Bangledesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines
-
10 million of workers in Gulf Coast
-
risk death> dangers and high temperatures[50] , injuries
-
unhygenic housing: crowded, unhygenic camps- outside city
-
$5-$7 a day
-
in Asia, it seems to them much better to be in Gulf (millionaires)
^want to earn more for life; taught Gulf was best way to earn $
-
a local agent recruits the men
-
some workers commit suicide (too much debt to pay >loans)
-
when workers arrive, passports are taken> recruiters make them pay for airfare: USD 1200-2500, and a fee
-
any money they're making for the first 2 yrs > loans
- the workers don't understand what financial imbalance they are dealing with
- $1200 [2 yrs salary]
- $2500 for Visa
-
formerly told $280, now $120 a month (expenses for food)
-
not paid for their work (some of it)
-
109 cases of Indian's suidide in UAE (reported to Indian Embassy)
-
US$220, 185 (accom. & food) a month
-
[one person was] working 30 months, only payed for 4 months
-
no one is keeping track of siuicides
-
Ambe- one of companies- based in India
-
No food/ water
-
want to labor for family
-
No deaths/ injuries reported
-
disfunctional state> camps
-
100,000 worders- biggest housing in Gulf
-
treated like dogs, not good accomodations
-
slowly signs of change > more laws to protect laborer's rights.
-
believe nothing will change
-
if no one starts to stop this- no one will ever know what's happening
Window 2 India: Indians in the Gulf: Desperate Diaspora? :
Info Shop News:
- over 500 of Nepalese workers in Gulf countries died }2007 alone
- most deaths caused from traffic accidents, work place hazards, heart attacks, or committing suicide
- deaths mostly happen in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE
- Nepali Embassy in Riyadh: last yr, 301 Nepalese died in Saudi Arabia< which has a total of 200,000 Nepalese working
- 49%- natural causes
- 28%- road accidents
- 13% form working with risks involved
- 10%- suicide
Regional Conference on Arab Migration in a Globalized World:
- gulf states have attracted criticism for the labor in them
- the money sent back to their homes by the workers has helped the countries to develop economically
- without these workers, the oil countries wouldnt have the labor that they would have needed
- "dependence on foreign labor has become a structural feature of the " - from this website [click here]
RFA: Broken Promises, Hard Times: Burmese Contract Laborers in Qatar:
- workers come, being offered proper jobs, housing, health care, living conditions
- One of the workers say:
-agents manipulate and cheat the workers
-if anyone complains, they will be sent back> the employer just says they failed a medical examination and must be sent back the next day without any payment
-
Qatar’s population of 885,359, only 200,000 are citizens, the others are foreign workers
- most are construction workers
- “Our Burmese salary is somewhere between 600 and 1,000 rials (U.S.$275), while Filipinos get at least 1,200 rials, and Syrians and Lebanese get 3,000 rials.”
"Here again I think they are selling Burmese. They keep our passports. The highest pay a Burmese electrician gets is 800 rials, but the contractor makes 3,000 rials from his work,”Here again I think they are selling Burmese. They keep our passports. The highest pay a Burmese electrician gets is 800 rials, but the contractor makes 3,000 rials from his work,”-direct quote from this website
- workers dont want to stay, but must until the debt is payed back
- some workers' countries' governments protect them, and others don't.
^Filipino government comes and checks if the workers are getting promised pay and adequite conditions
Half Moon Bay: Chineese children working:
- in China there are many children working with inadaquate conditions like the Gulf workers
- the parents are tricked into contracting their children into slave labor because they are illiterate
- "The children work 80-hour weeks and earn as little as a dollar a day, but still have to pay deductions for their often dilapidated accommodations. If they don’t work fast enough, they are beaten." -direct quote from this website.
Prol-Position: Construction Worker's Struggles:
-
governments have felt the need to change labor laws according to "international standard" and to help the workers
-
struggles of Asian workers disrupted accomadations and services for US troops in Iraq
- "600 workers, mostly Indian, went on strike against the poor living conditions and the non-payment of salaries for six months. This is a new development in a country like Qatar, which is completely dependent on foreign workers" -direct quote from this site
- [Gulf Cooperation Council (Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates= GCC] [GCC is mentioned in other parts of my research]
-
workers do cause strikes and conflicts> blocked roads in Dubai, refuse to work until given certain things, but usually after this, they are deported from the country they are working in
India eNews:
-
"slum dwellers are more likely to die earlier, experience more hunger and disease, attain less education and have fewer chances of employment" -direct quote from
this website
Country Studies: Sri Lanka living conditions:
- "In the late 1980s, vast differences remained in the wealth and life-styles of citizens in Sri Lanka. In urban areas, such as Colombo, entire neighborhoods consisted of beautiful houses owned by well-off administrators and businessmen. This elite enjoyed facilities and opportunities on a par with those of middle- and upper-middle-class residents of Europe or North America. In the countryside, families that controlled more extensive farms lived a rustic but healthy life, with excellent access to food, shelter, clothing, and opportunities for education and employment. In contrast, at lower levels in the class pyramid, the vast majority of the population experienced a much lower standard of living and range of opportunities. A sizable minority in both the cities and rural villages led a marginal existence, with inadequate food and facilities and poor chances for upward mobility. " -direct quote from this site
__________________________
Random Info:
- companies employing illegal workers are being caught and are reported to the public [ the companies that exploit workers]
- other people in other parts of the world must know about this problem because there are organizations to help
-
5) Classify the information and ideas into categories
(The information has been classified by each question)
Question 1: Do people in other parts of the world know what’s happening (here & other places)?
- India intends to protect immigrant workers in Gulf with laws
- intends to ask for better conditions and standards for the workers from the Gulf Cooperation Council
-
the higher end indian population is looking to improve lives of migrant workers
-
gulf states have attracted criticism for the labor in them
-
some workers' countries' governments protect them, and others don't.
^Filipino government comes and checks if the workers are getting promised pay and adequite conditions
-
most people know what is happening with [children] in China
-
other people in other parts of the world must know about this problem because there are organizations to help
-
some people are ignorant to this issue - they dont know about it but are buying products made by these workers/ or are using facilities built by them
Question 2: Where do they come from? What is it like there?
-
workers mostly from India, Bangledesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines
-
want to labor for family
-
the higher end indian population is looking to improve lives of migrant workers
-
over 500 of Nepalese workers in Gulf countries
- 153 Nepalese workers died in Qatar
- "slum dwellers are more likely to die earlier, experience more hunger and disease, attain less education and have fewer chances of employment" -direct quote from this website
- In the late 1980s, vast differences remained in the wealth and life-styles of citizens in Sri Lanka. In urban areas, such as Colombo, entire neighborhoods consisted of beautiful houses owned by well-off administrators and businessmen. This elite enjoyed facilities and opportunities on a par with those of middle- and upper-middle-class residents of Europe or North America. In the countryside, families that controlled more extensive farms lived a rustic but healthy life, with excellent access to food, shelter, clothing, and opportunities for education and employment. In contrast, at lower levels in the class pyramid, the vast majority of the population experienced a much lower standard of living and range of opportunities. A sizable minority in both the cities and rural villages led a marginal existence, with inadequate food and facilities and poor chances for upward mobility. " -direct quote from this site
-
in Asia, it seems to them much better to be in Gulf (millionaires)
^want to earn more for life; taught Gulf was best way to earn $
Question 3: How do they effect the rest of the world?
- gulf states have attracted criticism for the labor in them
- the money sent back to their homes by the workers has helped the countries to develop economically
- without these workers, the oil countries wouldnt have the labor that they would have needed
- "dependence on foreign labor has become a structural feature of the " - from this website [click here]
-
struggles of Asian workers disrupted accomadations and services for US troops in Iraq
- "600 workers, mostly Indian, went on strike against the poor living conditions and the non-payment of salaries for six months. This is a new development in a country like Qatar, which is completely dependent on foreign workers" -direct quote from this site
- [Gulf Cooperation Council (Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates= GCC] [GCC is mentioned in other parts of my research]
-
workers do cause strikes and conflicts> blocked roads in Dubai, refuse to work until given certain things, but usually after this, they are deported from the country they are working in
Question 4: What is their lifestyle like here?
-
$200 bil. from buildings revenue- construction contracts
-
workers mostly from India, Bangledesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines
-
10 million of workers in Gulf Coast
-
risk death> dangers and high temperatures[50] , injuries
-
unhygenic housing: crowded, unhygenic camps- outside city
-
$5-$7 a day
-
a local agent recruits the men
-
some workers commit suicide (too much debt to pay >loans)
-
when workers arrive, passports are taken> recruiters make them pay for airfare: USD 1200-2500, and a fee
-
any money they're making for the first 2 yrs > loans
- the workers don't understand what financial imbalance they are dealing with
- $1200 [2 yrs salary]
- $2500 for Visa
-
formerly told $280, now $120 a month (expenses for food)
-
not paid for their work (some of it)
-
109 cases of Indian's suidide in UAE (reported to Indian Embassy)
-
US$220, 185 (accom. & food) a month
-
[one person was] working 30 months, only payed for 4 months
-
no one is keeping track of siuicides
-
Ambe- one of companies- based in India
-
No food/ water
-
No deaths/ injuries reported
-
disfunctional state> camps
-
100,000 worders- biggest housing in Gulf
-
treated like dogs, not good accomodations
-
slowly signs of change > more laws to protect laborer's rights.
-
believe nothing will change
-
if no one starts to stop this- no one will ever know what's happening
-
India intends to protect immigrant workers in Gulf with laws
-
intends to ask for better conditions and standards for the workers from the Gulf Cooperation Council
-
the higher end indian population is looking to improve lives of migrant workers
- over 500 of Nepalese workers in Gulf countries died }2007 alone
- most deaths caused from traffic accidents, work place hazards, heart attacks, or committing suicide
- deaths mostly happen in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE
- Nepali Embassy in Riyadh: last yr, 301 Nepalese died in Saudi Arabia< which has a total of 200,000 Nepalese working
- 49%- natural causes
- 28%- road accidents
- 13% form working with risks involved
- 10%- suicide
-
153 Nepalese workers died in Qatar [largest amount of Nepalis workers in Gulf region> 266,000]
-
5%- nat. causes
-
66%- heart attack
-
UAE- 49 Nepalese workers died last yr out of 80,000
-
workers come, being offered proper jobs, housing, health care, living conditions
- One of the workers say:
-agents manipulate and cheat the workers
-if anyone complains, they will be sent back> the employer just says they failed a medical examination and must be sent back the next day without any payment
-
Qatar’s population of 885,359, only 200,000 are citizens, the others are foreign workers
- most are construction workers
- “Our Burmese salary is somewhere between 600 and 1,000 rials (U.S.$275), while Filipinos get at least 1,200 rials, and Syrians and Lebanese get 3,000 rials.”
"Here again I think they are selling Burmese. They keep our passports. The highest pay a Burmese electrician gets is 800 rials, but the contractor makes 3,000 rials from his work,”-direct quote from this website
- workers dont want to stay, but must until the debt is payed back
- some workers' countries' governments protect them, and others don't.
^Filipino government comes and checks if the workers are getting promised pay and adequite conditions
Question 5: Where else is this happening in the world?
-
Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
- in China there are many children working with inadaquate conditions like the Gulf workers
- the parents are tricked into contracting their children into slave labor because they are illiterate
- "The children work 80-hour weeks and earn as little as a dollar a day, but still have to pay deductions for their often dilapidated accommodations. If they don’t work fast enough, they are beaten." -direct quote from this website.
-
all over the world workers are being cheated and treated unfairly
6) Select best information [Choose which ideas you might use]/ Distinguish what kind of poem it will be- its tone, main point/ subject
The ideas/ best information that have been chosen are highlighted under step 5.
7) Create a poem based on the research
8) Defend your choices of the resources used and tell how they contributed to the poem. – Argue why these sources are trustworthy sources or not.
____________________
NOTES:
How Corporations Work.doc
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.