ABU DHABI // Outside a dilapidated collection of concrete shacks that lack running water, Raju Cheriyan picks up a blue-eyed, fluffy, grey and white feline, which he and his fellow labourers have identified as their mascot.
"This cat in particular is a good cat," Mr Cheriyan says. "She is beautiful. Her mother was hit by a car, and we all started looking after her."
The 30 or so Indian and Pakistani labourers living at this camp on a dry patch of land in Musaffah are among the last to be relocated as part of a broader effort by the municipality to shift workers to new accommodation. The men are living in limbo, awaiting the outcome of a court case in which they say they are owed months of wages.
But another pressing concern is the fate of the 75 extra mouths they have been feeding for months - those of the stray cats that have slowly congregated around their makeshift lodgings.
A handful of buildings in the labour city have drawn hundreds of cats between them, seeking refuge as nearby compounds are torn down. The men at this camp have pooled part of their savings to buy dry food and small fish to feed the 75 animals that call the camp home.
They also carry buckets of water from a nearby mosque, and offer parts of their modest living quarters for relief from the relentless heat.
The men, who were employed by Emirates Electromechanical & Industry LLC before resigning four months ago, have been living off their savings to keep clothed and fed.
But when they are relocated to another camp in nearby Saniya in the coming days, they fear the worst for the adopted pets that they leave behind.
"God only knows what will happen to them when they bulldoze this building," says Mr Cheriyan, who has lived on the site for eight years. "If I could, I would take 100, 200, of them, but the new camp we are being moved to will not allow it."
Pam Greer, the education co-ordinator for Feline Friends Abu Dhabi, suggests that an outdoor shelter or enclosure be set up for the cats to protect them from the scorching summer heat.
"The worst-case scenario would be that there's no food, there's no water out there, and 300 cats basically die of dehydration and starvation," she said.
"That is a horribly inhumane thing to have happen."
Ms Greer fears the cats will not be able to fend for themselves because they have been cared for so well. Even the rubbish bins from which they often feed will soon be void of scraps.
"There was this huge honking rat running across the hall and the cats don't even budge," she said. "They don't need to look for food, and maybe they will, but a lot of them may not, they may just starve to death. They don't have that skill anymore."
Omar al Shoubaki, a pest control contract manager for The Centre for Waste Management, said the camp is private and therefore outside of the trap-neuter-release programme's jurisdiction.
But, he said, his department may still attempt to trap and sterilise the cats before releasing them back at the property.
The workers, meanwhile, are worried about their little ones.
"Now that it gets hot, they will not have water to drink or a place to hide from the sun," said Akbar Ali, who has lived at the camp for a year. "I am very afraid of what will happen to them. They cannot survive."
In a narrow hallway outside the workers' accommodation, Mr Cheriyan pulls out a small plastic tub. A layer of coins and paper money lies at the bottom.
"Everyone puts in two or five dirhams," he said. "We collect it, and spend Dh20 a day on food for the cats ... but we are only able to buy very cheap fish."
They worry most about the smallest kittens. In the corner of the kitchen, which is blackened with grime, a mother cat stands fiercely over her two babies.
"They are so tiny," says one worker, while the others stand and coo over the family. "They are maybe two, three days old?" he says.
Siddiq Ali, a local man who stops at the labour camp daily to feed the cats, said he has noticed the number of cats quickly swell at the remaining buildings.
"These men, they may have small wages, but they have big hearts," he said.
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zalhassani@thenational.ae
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Fast%20X
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
