In the early hours of February 28, when Iranian missiles began to fall on Abu Dhabi in response to the first American and Israeli attacks, many migrant workers from South Asia were completing their night shifts or resting in camps near critical infrastructure. Rajesh Kumar, a 34-year-old electrician from the Indian region of Uttar Pradesh, was at a power station on the outskirts of the United Arab Emirates capital when he heard the first explosion.

"At first, we thought it was a transformer. Then we saw the sky light up," he says. Rajesh and six other colleagues - all Indians and Bangladeshis - took cover behind some metal containers. Seconds later, an intercepted missile, aimed at a U.S. military base, fell just a few meters away. "I felt the heat on my face. I thought I had gone blind," he says. "When I opened my eyes, one of my friends was bleeding from the head. If we had been 10 meters closer, we wouldn't be here to tell the tale."

Rajesh would like to return to India. But his passport is in the hands of his employer, a reflection of a system that restricts the mobility of migrant workers and prevents them from leaving the country without permission…

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