Inside Dubai's labour camps

The construction of Dubai is being completed largely by illegal immigrant workers Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

They are brought by bus into the city each day from their camps Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

These men are part of a huge scam that is fuelling the construction boom in the Gulf Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Visitors to the city are largely oblivious to the presence of the exploited workers, who build the hotels and shopping centres Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

At the end of long days, after up to 18 hours of work, they are taken back to the camps Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Located outside the city, the camps are hidden from tourists. But on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, turn right before the Zaha Hadid bridge and you are in the ghetto-like Mousafah where the workers dwell Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Facilities are basic: washing takes place in a yard next to the camp toilets Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

A bucket is employed as a washing machine Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Dinner is prepared in grease-blackened pans Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

A typical meal consists of a few chillies, an onion and three tomatoes, fried with spices and eaten with a piece of bread Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

This pilau rice with meat is a rare treat, brought back to the camp by a worker returning from a trip home to his village in Pakistan Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

They dine on a floor lined with newspapers advertising the luxury watches, mobile phones and high-rise towers of Dubai Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Rare free time is spent playing cricket amid rubbish Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

In certain areas up to 20 men share a room. UN agencies estimate that there are up to 300,000 illegal workers in the Emirates Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian

Many of the men have had their passports taken away by the employment agencies they paid to come here and do not know when they will be able to go home Photograph: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad/Guardian