Yesterday morning while having tea with my mother, I saw through the window someone operating a crane. The reason it drew my attention was not because it was 5.30am but because the crane reached to a staggering height of 25 storeys.

It’s a common sight, with construction going on all around the Emirate, and most of us take it for granted, but I started to think about the person operating that crane. What would it be like to operate machinery at that height, trying to keep my cool – even though it might be 45 degrees in summer – while at the same time aware that I was constantly on the verge of dying?

I just couldn't comprehend it.

A lot of schools have pitched in to help Cameron Oliver with his campaign for camels, and while I think it’s a great idea, I wonder who has taken up the cause of the labourers in Abu Dhabi?

Most of the labourers in the UAE have been away from their home countries for many years, and while their jobs are necessary to the progress of Abu Dhabi, many of these men don’t live in very good conditions themselves.

At one time or another, most of us must have felt compassion for those people who have literally invested their sweat and blood to provide us homes. And while we may lounge on our leather couches, watching our favourite football match on our 42" LCD plasma TV, how are the labourers living who build that comfortable flat?

While looking at the labourers hard at work, I’m often strongly reminded of the elves from the Harry Potter series, magical creatures who are enslaved and destined to serve the wizards, poorly treated and living in wretched conditions. But there is a vast difference between elves and labourers.

The former is fiction while the latter is a breathing and living entity.

I’m delighted by the enthusiasm and appreciation Cameron Oliver has received on his camel campaign, but I’d love to see someone step up for the betterment of labourers, the backbone of Abu Dhabi. Their situation deserves at least as much attention.

Ali Karrar, age 14