Who Builds the Dream....

In this series, I documented the daily lives of migrant workers in Deira, one of Dubai’s oldest neighborhoods, far from the city’s image of luxury and spectacle. The photographs focus on the people who build and sustain Dubai, yet remain excluded from its

Dubai is often seen as a city of luxury, ambition, and spectacle. During my time in Deira, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, I deliberately stepped away from this image. Instead, I focused my camera on the daily lives of migrant workers who have built and continue to build the city.

I created this series to give visibility to people who are largely absent from Dubai’s dominant narrative. Their labor forms the foundation of the city’s wealth, yet their lives unfold far from the shine of the skyline. Long working days, modest living conditions, and moments of waiting and rest shape their reality.

Deira reveals the contrast between the image of Dubai and the world behind it physically close to wealth, yet far removed from it. With these photographs, I aim to show who pays the price for the luxury we admire and to invite reflection on our own desires and blind spots.