DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Late late, the consignor driver just rode his motorcycle around the speeding cars, rushing with time and vehicles to fulfill the burger’s desire – the last delivery in Dubai.
After a while, the car shook him.
The accident struck Mohammed Ifran on his bicycle and smashed him on the road, killing the 21-year-old while he was providing $ 8 worth of food.
“The only thing that brings happiness to his family,” said a messenger in Deira’s state, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.
Ifran’s death in June represents one of the worst casualties among Dubai’s food carriers, workers and activists say, as the epidemic pushed millions of people home and re-enforced a number of laws related to programs.
The proliferation has changed the roads and shopping malls in Dubai and attracted thousands of hardworking riders, especially Pakistanis, to work dangerous, light and sometimes dangerous jobs. With those paying more between $ 2 to $ 3 per delivery instead of paying a fixed fee, the riders also run on a hot fire just to get there sooner.
The situation of global transport, dangerous for a long time, worsened during the epidemic as riders became more likely to feed cities and face new threats posed by coronavirus. But in Dubai, the brightest part of the United Arab Emirate that operates to pay for a minority from Africa and Asia, the task can be daunting.
At the mercy of visa agents, workers in Dubai have less security. To reduce costs, companies such as London-based Deliveroo bicycles export, labor and their responsibility to operating agencies – working pipelines located in the Gulf Arab region and can lead to violence.
“For food retailers in the UAE, the issue of nutrition is a contributing factor. That’s when people feel they can’t change jobs or worry about how they work,” said Karen Young, a senior at the Middle East Institute in Washington.
On the streets of Dubai, more than a dozen pilots surveyed said they knew that two or three co-workers were killed each month. Remembering of friends who scattered on the streets wearing uniforms full of blood-stained hats becomes more visible as they ride their bikes every morning, many said.
Dubai police have not yet identified the number of road accidents by 2020. The past has not reported the death toll of motorcycle deaths. Officials are refusing to provide the latest statistics or comment on fraudulent cases like Ifran.
Without an official number, activists surveyed local journalists to determine the amount of work hidden. Another street activist, whose name has not been released for fear of reprisals, has seized reports of at least 70 transport journalists who were hospitalized in Dubai last year, including 24 who died.
That number, while relatively low, is “huge” in Dubai this year, which has kept many people off the streets, he said. The country as a whole has registered 448 people who died in 2019.
The Emirati newspaper, a state-affiliated newspaper, The National also reported that 12 shipping drivers were killed when the city was closed in April alone, quoting police officers as saying, “When the money comes to the gang, security is put aside.”
Couriers in Dubai often lack security equipment and adequate security training, industry experts said, while riders have not learned about motorcycle riding such as blind checks. Helmets are often worn incorrectly. Contractors pay only $ 27 a month for bicycle maintenance – a small amount of fuel for the bicycle and breaking tires, tires and plugs.
In response to questions from the Associated Press, the Roads Road and Transportation Authority in Dubai said security is a priority for the government because it will help market growth. Officials mentioned in the recently announced rules, including disciplining users of the method, demanding cold towels and limiting travel facilities.
Managers of two major companies, Deliveroo and Talabat, explained that they receive less insurance from other companies, which often pay hundreds of dollars in unpaid bills. Several pilots who were hit by cars on board flights said their contractors refused to spend more money on a hospital in Dubai, instead of forcing them to return to Pakistan to pay for cheap surgery.
Talabat from the UAE, which saw its contributions increase by 100% in the first year of the year, said the platform has a “very high level” of high-level training and ensures that contractors provide medical care in accordance with the law. The German-based company, Delivery Hero, has released a group of high-profile passengers, he said, “who are helping to ensure that our ships across the UAE continue to comply with safety regulations.”
Deliveroo said it had changed working hours “to meet the needs of more customers,” and ensured that all passengers provided their contractors with documents, including insurance.
“Our partners in every market are working with Deliveroo to make sure things are going well,” he said.
Neither Deliveroo nor Talabat provided the death threats to their makers. Deliveroo from London is worth more than $ 8 billion, while the owner of Talabat Delivery Hero is worth $ 35 billion.
Authorities transfer all injured passengers to state-run hospitals, to which doctors refused to respond. But government hospital staff said even though they saw dozens of food distributors with broken limbs that fell off their bikes.
“She is OK. They are very tired, they have lost water, they are tired, ”said Dr. Taimoor Tung at Orthopedics and Spine Hospital in Dubai.
One passenger, Mohammed Asin, said he would not have left his family in Sialkot, Pakistan, to enter the Dubai drop-off center had it not been for his classmate, 22-year-old Hamed Shafiq, who boarded Talabat.
“’Again,’ he said, ‘this is the dream. We can make real money. Our families can have a better life, ” Asin said.
On Feb. 16, Asin went to Dubai, stayed with Shafiq and signed with Deliveroo, ready to fulfill his dream.
The next day, his best friend was dead – he knocked down his bike and a car that went into his driveway. Asin, however, continues to donate to this day.
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Follow Isabel DeBre on Twitter at www.twitter.com/isabeldebre