At least 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka died during the 10-year construction of the Qatar 2022 World Cup facilities due to poor working conditions and lack of training, according to THE Guardian. The shocking figure is likely to be underestimated because there are no figures available for the deaths of migrant workers from Kenya or the Philippines.
Major development work is underway, in addition to the conversion of the Khalifa Stadium and the construction of seven additional World Cup stadiums, as well as a new airport, new hotels, new roads and public transport, and a whole new city being built. built only for the celebrations of the World Cup final.
Qatar’s human rights record has been the subject of analysis since the country won the bid to host the international event. Amnesty International published a condemnatory report accusing the wealthy country of lying to migrants to motivate them to work. Many workers paid heavy fees to recruitment companies hired by the Qatari government to cover transportation and accommodation. Many of them could not pay the fees, so they received loans that they have to pay.
Once in Qatar, they are supposed to be forced to live in precarious conditions and are often not paid in a timely manner or as promised. “Workers generally live in tight, dirty and unsafe accommodation,” reported Amnesty International. “Recruitment agents also make false promises about the wages that workers will receive and the type of work offered. A worker was promised a salary of $ 300 a month in Nepal, but it ended up being $ 190 when he started working in Qatar. “
Payments are also often delayed, leaving workers unable to send money back home or to make recruitment-related loan payments that they were often forced to borrow.
THE Guardian estimates that in the last 10 years since Qatar won the bid to host the event, an average of 12 migrant workers from countries in South Asia have died each week. That number can be twice as high if records of other migrant deaths are released.
Many of the deaths are due to the fact that workers are poorly trained in safety at construction sites and the extreme heat conditions of the Arab nation, but some died in their dormitories. A 29-year-old Bangladeshi man named Mohammad Shahid Miah died when the floodwater in his room came in contact with an exposed electrical cable, electrocuting him, according to the Guardian.
Amnesty International also reports that all migrant workers who interviewed lost their identity documents on arrival and did not receive a renewed residence permit, which means that they cannot leave the country. Workers are also prohibited from changing jobs, which prevents them from fulfilling contracts signed without legal advice.
The average monthly salary of those working on converting Khalifa Stadium for the games is $ 220, according to Amnesty International, while the main subcontractor is receiving more than $ 35 million.
The Qatar Supreme Delivery and Legacy Committee (SC) and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 LLC signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this month with the Qatar National Human Rights Committee to raise awareness of human rights issues in the World Cup. “SC has been working tirelessly to protect the health, safety and well-being of all workers involved in the Qatar 2022 project. We are proud of our achievements in the past 10 years and we firmly believe that our actions have created a benchmark of excellence – no only in Qatar, but across the region and around the world, ”Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Handover and Legacy Committee, said.
The World Cup will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022, with 32 teams competing in eight stadiums.