She explains that the worker, identified by the pseudonym “Vijay,” was paid $2,100 in recruitment fees in 2004, but that, after a decade of work, now makes $217 a month

(rising to $326 with overtime, but down from $435 before the financial crisis). Here is what Vijay says about life on the ground for those laying the groundwork for these cultural mega-projects: “Some days I start at 7 a.m. I never know when I will get done. We sometimes work past midnight. I sometimes sleep for only two or three hours…Yet we cannot complain.”

Molly Crabapple at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi worksite