dublin / friday / 1600
thanks to drinky and weary traveller for highlighting the issue of the questionable labour conditions in dubai - as left coast points out, it certainly does make some of the buildings seem less attractive. incidentally, work stops between 1 and 4pm by law.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/08/middleeast.construction
sadly, the world seems to be full of these concerns, not just in UAE - but also, criminally, in iraq:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/07/27/slave-labor-used-to-.html
and of course back home in europe. i read a very interesting (and both depressing and hopeful) article in the new yorker a while back that some of you might like to read:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/05/080505fa_fact_finnegan?currentPage=all
a couple of years ago we agreed to play at a show (that never happened in the end) to celebrate the anniversary of the abolition of slavery... seems like there's a lot more work still to do, both home and abroad. i took a few pics of buildings, but somehow it doesn't seem appropriate to put them up after all. it's good to know that people are concerned with the plight of others, and i hope our music can do a tiny bit to carry that forward.
