I went on a field visit with officials from the Northern Municipal Council along with government officials in several minsitries to inspect labour housing in Saar. 

To be honest, I had gone in with the idea that I will find crowded rooms and health and building violations and had already formulated an idea in my mind that the labourers must be at fault. 

In other words, I had my story ready in my head as to what I was going to write about for my article. 

However, I was in for the shock of my life when I saw first-hand the inhumane conditions some of these poor labourers were living in! 

Exposed electrical wires along with badly stored gas cylinders were an explosion waiting to happen while on the other side of the location were men literally living with cows and chickens. 

I saw what seemed like tonnes of construction and household waste just thrown around creating the perfect breeding ground for rodents and snakes (which I saw one). 

There were people living lives much worse than some of the pets we take into our homes - that doesn't sit right with me. 

Has the greed reached such a point in some employers that they would stuff tens of workers in such tight confined spaces without thinking about their basic right of adequate living conditions? 

Has greed reached a point in which getting as much rent as possible by taking advantage of people who have no other options that it trumps human decency and the right to safety? 

We tend to forget issues that don't happen in front of my eyes. I was so busy formulating an article in my head blaming labourers and labelling them as 'uncivilised' in my head, when in reality the sights I witnessed brought the entire image crashing down like a ton of bricks around my head. 

By ignoring these issues simply because we don't live in these conditions doesn't mean they aren't happening. 

We need to be more human. 

We need to be more compassionate.