"Economic outlook for the UAE is secure"

There's a thin ragged man poking around in the dustbin across the road. His ancient bike is propped against a lamppost and stacked with flattened cardboard boxes tied together with string. He triumphantly pulls a box out of the rubbish, rotten fruit and tea-bags tumbling onto the road. I watch as he flattens the box expertly, and fastens it on to the bike with the others. Then he climbs on and pedals away precariously, wheels squeaking, narrowly missing a glitzy car driving too fast. He wobbles a little and disappears around the corner to where more bins hold more hidden treasure.

I wonder about his home; does he have a family eagerly awaiting his return in the evening, listening out for the squeaky wheel, clamouring for his attention and enraptured by his tales of derring-do on his trusty bike? Or does he return to an empty bed-space, amongst a dozen more sharing a dingy room along with cockroaches and a creaky fan, cutting through the humidity inadequately?