Christmas holds little cheer this year for an unlucky band of stranded Asian workers in the United Arab Emirates.

More than 150 expatriate workers from south and east Asia are living on charity in the Gulf emirates of Dubai and Sharjah, after being abandoned by their employers.

Their plight has already led to attempted suicide and divorce.

Among them Safdar Ali from Bombay is one whose dreams of riches have turned to dust.

The resort he was hired to work at in Dubai, the Golden Ring, has closed and its Russian owner has abandoned his 41 employees.

Now they are living on charity, some of them forced to sleep in a nearby bus.

Driven by despair

In October, Safdar Ali despaired of ever being able to support his family back home.

He doused himself in kerosene and lit a match. Only swift action by his fellow workers prevented his suicide bid from succeeding.

But three months later, the workers' case has yet to reach court.

A fellow worker, Filipino accountant Danny de Vera, summed up the situation: "From June until now, they didn't pay us and we're living in the accommodation without light, without water and without food of course. It's sad to say that our life here is miserable."

No way out

In the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah, there are over 100 South Asian textile workers who haven't been paid since 1997.

Their Indian employer fled from the country in August, leaving most with expired visas that risk incurring them thousands of dollars in official fines.

Until the law courts decide whether to let them off those fines, none of the workers can return home.

In the meantime, one Sri Lankan woman's husband has threatened to divorce her if she does not return at once.