TED2009
Cameron Sinclair: The refugees of boom-and-bust
Cameron Sinclair: Los refugiados del auge y la bancarrota.
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En TEDGlobal U, Cameron Sinclair muestra el coste sin denuncia de los mega-proyectos inmobiliarios en quiebra: miles de emigrantes trabajadores de la construcción sin poder volver a sus casas y sin dinero. A sus compañeros arquitectos les dice que sólo existe una única respuesta ética.
Cameron Sinclair - Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs. Full bio
2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:18
A few years ago, my eyes were opened
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Hace algunos años me abrieron los ojos
00:21
to the dark side of the construction industry.
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al lado oscuro de la industria de la construcción.
00:24
In 2006, young Qatari students
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En 2006, jóvenes estudiantes de Qatar
00:27
took me to go and see the migrant worker camps.
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me llevaron a ver los asentamientos de trabajadores emigrantes.
00:29
And since then I've followed the unfolding issue of worker rights.
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Y desde entonces, he estado siguiendo la reveladora cuestión los derechos de los trabajadores.
00:34
In the last six months, more than 300 skyscrapers
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En los últimos 6 meses, más de 300 rascacielos
00:36
in the UAE have been put on hold or canceled.
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se han paralizado o cancelado en los Emiratos Árabes Unidos.
00:39
Behind the headlines that lay behind these buildings
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Tras los titulares que ocupan estos edificios
00:42
is the fate of the often-indentured construction worker.
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está el destino de los a menudo explotados trabajadores de la construcción.
00:46
1.1 million of them.
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1.1 millones de ellos.
00:48
Mainly Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan
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Principalmente de India, Pakistán, Sri Lanka,
00:51
and Nepalese, these laborers risk everything
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y Nepal, estos trabajadores lo arriesgan todo
00:53
to make money for their families back home.
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para ganar dinero para sus familias en sus países de origen.
00:56
They pay a middle-man thousands of dollars to be there.
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Pagan miles de dólares a un intermediario para estar allí.
00:58
And when they arrive, they find themselves in labor camps with no water,
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Y cuando llegan, se encuentran en campos de trabajo sin agua,
01:02
no air conditioning, and their passports taken away.
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sin aire acondicionado, y sus pasaportes son confiscados.
01:06
While it's easy to point the finger at local officials and higher authorities,
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Y mientras que es fácil apuntar con el dedo a los oficiales locales y a autoridades más altas,
01:10
99 percent of these people are hired by the private sector,
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el 99% de estas personas son contratadas por el sector privado.
01:14
and so therefore we're equally, if not more, accountable.
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Por lo tanto, somos igualmente responsables, si no más.
01:17
Groups like Buildsafe UAE have emerged,
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Han aparecido grupos como 'Build Safe UAE' ('Construcción Segura en los Emiratos'),
01:20
but the numbers are simply overwhelming.
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pero las cifras son simplemente aplastantes.
01:22
In August 2008,
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En agosto de 2008,
01:24
UAE public officials noted
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oficiales públicos de los Emiratos observaron
01:26
that 40 percent of the country's 1,098 labor camps
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que el 40% de los 1.098 campos de trabajo del país
01:30
had violated minimum health and fire safety regulations.
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habían violado las regulaciones mínimas de salud y seguridad antincendios.
01:33
And last summer, more than 10,000 workers
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Y el verano pasado, más de 10.000 trabajadores
01:36
protested for the non-payment of wages,
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protestaron por el impago de sus salarios,
01:39
for the poor quality of food, and inadequate housing.
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por la poca calidad de la comida y por condiciones de vivienda inadecuadas.
01:42
And then the financial collapse happened.
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Y entonces ocurrió el colapso financiero.
01:45
When the contractors have gone bust,
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Cuando los contratistas han quebrado,
01:47
as they've been overleveraged like everyone else,
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por estar sobre-apalancados como todo el mundo,
01:49
the difference is everything goes missing,
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la diferencia es que todo se pierde,
01:52
documentation, passports,
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documentos, pasaportes,
01:54
and tickets home for these workers.
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y pasajes para que estos trabajadores vuelvan a casa.
01:56
Currently, right now, thousands of workers are abandoned.
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Actualmente, ahora mismo, miles de trabajadores están abandonados.
02:00
There is no way back home.
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No tienen forma de volver a casa.
02:02
And there is no way, and no proof of arrival.
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No hay manera de volver, y no hay prueba de su llegada.
02:05
These are the boom-and-bust refugees.
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Estos son los refugiados del auge y la bancarrota.
02:08
The question is, as a building professional,
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La cuestión es, como profesional de la construcción,
02:11
as an architect, an engineer, as a developer,
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como arquitecto, ingeniero, promotor inmobiliario,
02:13
if you know this is going on,
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si sabes que está ocurriendo esto,
02:15
as we go to the sights every single week,
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porque vamos a las obras semana tras semana,
02:18
are you complacent or complicit
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¿eres indiferente o cómplice
02:20
in the human rights violations?
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en la violación de los derechos humanos?
02:22
So let's forget your environmental footprint.
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Olvidemos tu legado medioambiental.
02:25
Let's think about your ethical footprint.
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Pensemos en tu legado ético.
02:27
What good is it
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¿Qué tiene de bueno
02:30
to build a zero-carbon, energy efficient complex,
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construir un complejo con cero emisiones, eficiente energéticamente,
02:33
when the labor producing this architectural gem
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si el trabajo que produce esta gema arquitectónica
02:36
is unethical at best?
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es inmoral en el mejor de los casos?
02:39
Now, recently I've been told I've been taking the high road.
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Hace poco me han dicho que he tomado el camino más difícil.
02:41
But, quite frankly, on this issue,
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Pero, francamente, en este asunto,
02:43
there is no other road.
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no hay otro camino.
02:45
So let's not forget who is really paying the price of this financial collapse.
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Así que no olvidemos quién está pagando realmente el precio de este colapso financiero.
02:49
And that as we worry about our next job in the office,
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Y cuando nos preocupemos en nuestra oficina por nuestro próximo trabajo,
02:52
the next design that we can get, to keep our workers.
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por el próximo diseño que podamos conseguir para mantener a nuestros trabajadores,
02:56
Let's not forget these men, who are truly dying to work.
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no olvidemos a estos hombres, quienes están verdaderamente muriéndose por trabajar.
02:59
Thank you.
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Gracias.
03:01
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cameron Sinclair - Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity2006 TED Prize winner Cameron Sinclair is co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises -- and acts as a conduit between the design community and the world's humanitarian needs.
Why you should listen
After training as an architect, Cameron Sinclair (then age 24) joined Kate Stohr to found Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps architects apply their skills to humanitarian efforts. Starting with just $700 and a simple web site in 1999, AFH has grown into an international hub for humanitarian design, offering innovative solutions to housing problems in all corners of the globe.
Whether rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Bam in Iran, designing a soccer field doubling as an HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa, housing refugees on the Afghan border, or helping Katrina victims rebuild, Architecture for Humanity works by Sinclair's mantra: "Design like you give a damn." (Sinclair and Stohr cowrote a book by the same name, released in 2006.)
A regular contributor to the sustainability blog Worldchanging.com, Sinclair is now working on the Open Architecture Network, born from the wish he made when he accepted the 2006 TED Prize: to build a global, open-source network where architects, governments and NGOs can share and implement design plans to house the world.
Cameron Sinclair | Speaker | TED.com