Ramadan 2013: The workers' holy month

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Labourers break their fast.

People arrive for evening prayers at a mosque in Mussaffah.

Men pray after Iftar at a mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

Men pray after Iftar at a mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

Expatriate labourer Abdullah Mohammed from Bangladesh works during the night at a metal shop.

Butchers work at the Khourfkahn Meat Trading Company.

Men make their way to the Sheikh Khalifa mosque for Iftar and evening prayers.

People socialize outside the Sheikh Khalifa mosque prior to Iftar.

Men break their fast.

Men break their fast.

Labourers wait for buses to take them to work after morning prayers outside the Workers Village Labour Camp.

A taxi driver brushes his hair outside the Workers Village Labour Camp.

Mussaffah's residents toil in the sun for most of the day, so when they break their fast at dusk it is even more satisfying.

To outsiders, the industrial district of Mussaffah can seem like a lost city of impenetrable byways and near identical warehouses, a short drive from the island of Abu Dhabi but in another world.

It is as far from the glitz and glam of the capital’s shopping malls and five-star hotels as it is possible to imagine.

But while iftar may not be a lavish buffet in a luxury tent, at sunset the residents and workers of Mussaffah still look forward to breaking the fast. Many of those who toil here do so in the open air and without the benefit of air-conditioned offices, in energy-sapping humidity and temperatures that regularly hit the mid 40s. But while such conditions may test their resolve and their faith, it makes the first sip of water or mouthful of food all the sweeter.

Many of Mussaffah’s population of about 150,000 come from poor countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan. Few earn more than a thousand or so dirhams a month, much of it sent home to support families they see perhaps once every two years.

In this environment, the local mosques become central to the community, nourishing not just the spirit but the appetites of men whose hunger is sharpened by nearly 15 hours without food or water.

Yet their faith does not waiver and in Mussaffah, the true spirit of Ramadan is to be found.

* James Langton