We spend 8 hours picking up 50k massage cards daily: Dubai cleaners

Dubai - The problem, which has plagued Dubai for a long time, has expanded to different neighbourhoods over the years.

Imagine picking up thousands of those dubious massage cards off Dubai streets in a single day. Now, picture having to do that repeatedly every day.
It may not be your reality, but it is for many cleaners in Dubai neighbourhoods.
Cleaners in Barsha Heights told Khaleej Times that they spend eight hours picking up more than 50,000 massage parlour cards off the streets and cars every single day-and they're getting exhausted of having to do so.
The problem, which has plagued Dubai for a long time, has expanded to different neighbourhoods over the years. International City, Bur Dubai, Karama, Barsha, Barsha Heights, Deira and Discovery Gardens are some of the locations that have suffered or continue to suffer from this litter.
Residents are also inconvenienced by the cards left on their car windows. While some discard them in a waste bin, many irresponsibly throw them on the ground. Who suffers in the end? The cleaners.
"We get very, very, tired," said a cleaner in Barsha Heights, Joseph Ofori. "My arm starts hurting after picking up these cards every day. We have to use the cleaning stick and it gets very difficult after a few hours. Then, we have to repeat the process the next day and every day after that." Ofori, as well as about 15 other cleaners, starts his shift at 6.30am.
According to him, all the other litter in the community is nothing compared to the amount of cards they have to clean up from the streets and cars.
The workers get a break at 11.40am, return to their jobs at 1pm, and clean until 3.40pm - that's nearly eight hours of getting rid of massage cards. It's a pattern they have to follow every day.
"It's getting out of hand, and whoever is doing this needs to stop. Until then, I am requesting that people throw the cards they find into a waste bin," Ofori said.
Another cleaner, Richard Danso, said these parts of Dubai will be "much cleaner" if only the distribution of these cards could stop. "It's important to keep the country clean, and these cards are a big cause of litter," he said.
"The distributors leave them on the windows of people's cars or, sometimes, on the ground. Some residents also throw them on the ground because they get angry. There are many waste bins in this community but, I guess, people are also tired of finding these cards on their cars every day."
There are several signs that have been installed in different areas of Barsha Heights, warning distributors that handing out promotional materials is prohibited and "violators will be prosecuted".
These massage parlour cards offer illegal services and display inappropriate images. Several men and women distributing the cards, as well as  workers in illegal massage centres, have been arrested in the past.
As the massage card menace continues and authorities continue to crack down on these illegal activities, let's shred the cards and place them in a recycling bin to help out the cleaners and the environment.
A day in the life of a street cleaner
>Starts shift at 6.30am
>Cleans up, picks up massage cards from sidewalks, grass areas, car windows, a parking lot near a mosque
>Goes around areas near cars - where most cards are found, likely thrown away by angry residents
(Plenty of waste bins are placed in the neighbourhood, but most don't bother using them to dispose of the cards, they say.)
>Takes a break at 11.40am (By this hour, their arms are already tired of sweeping, picking up massage cards)
>Gets back to work at 3.40pm - same cleaning task
>At the end of the day: Several trash bags get filled with 50,000 massage cards
(Only to find the same amount of card trash again the next day. The cycle repeats.)
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com
 

• UAE