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Report predicts at least 4000 migrant workers will die in preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar

 
Hey Sepp, explain again why Qatar got the World Cup?

Hey Sepp, explain again why Qatar got the World Cup? Source: AFP

WHAT does it cost to host a World Cup?

We have that debate every four years, but it’s usually about money. When it comes to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the cost will not only be in dollar terms ... it will be in lives.

The International Trade Union Confederation recently released an extensive reporton the working and living conditions of migrant workers in Qatar. It’s staggering.

There are about 1.4 million of those workers living in the Middle Eastern nation right now. A huge proportion of them are building stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup. And if labour conditions in Qatar don’t improve, β€œat least 4000” migrant workers could die before the tournament kicks off in eight years.

 

 A woman with her face painted in the colours of the Qatar flag celebrates in Doha after the tiny Gulf state was chosen to ho...

A woman with her face painted in the colours of the Qatar flag celebrates after her nation won the 2022 World Cup hosting rights. Source: AP

 

β€œI went on site this morning at 5am and there was blood everywhere,” says one worker quoted by the ITUC.

β€œI don’t know what happened, but it was covered up with no report. When I reported this, I was told that if I didn’t stop complaining, I would be dismissed.”

Other migrant workers are desperate to be dismissed, so to speak. They want to collect the pay they’re owed and leave the country.

β€œOur contract expired, yet the employer has not paid our salaries between one to three months, nor has he provided end of contract benefits or tickets home,” says one such worker.

β€œEach time we come to the office, it is always, β€˜Come back in a couple of days and you will have your pay and tickets.’”

 

A computer generated image shows the stadium they’re building in Al-Wakrah for the World

A computer generated image shows the stadium they’re building in Al-Wakrah for the World Cup. Source: AFP

 

The workers are housed in cramped accommodation with terrible food and no clean drinking water, which is inhumane enough. But on top of that, they’re dying at a shocking rate.

The ITUC claims its estimate of 4000 deaths is a conservative one. It has calculated that figure using statistics from two embassies in Qatar β€” those of Nepal and India, whose nationals account for roughly half of the migrant workforce.

According to the Nepalese embassy, more than 400 of its citizens have died since Qatar won the right to host the World Cup in 2010. More than 700 Indians have died in the same period.

That adds up to about a thousand deaths in three years. If you assume the other half of the workforce is suffering casualties at a similar rate, the figure jumps to 2000.

Consider that in context. There are another eight years left before the 2022 World Cup, and the number of workers in Qatar is only increasing. So the estimate of 4000 deaths really does seem conservative.

 

The delegates from Qatar celebrate after the hosting announcement.

The delegates from Qatar celebrate after the hosting announcement. Source: News Limited

 

This isn’t normal, by the way. According to the report, five workers have died so far in preparations for the 2018 tournament in Russia. Seven have died getting Brazil ready for this year’s World Cup. When South Africa hosted the last edition of the event, there were just two casualties.

Another independent report on the conditions of Qatar’s migrant workers is due to be published this week, and the nation has indicated it will indeed make some changes to its labour laws.

If the statistics we already have are anywhere near accurate, those changes need to be massive.

FM

INDIA: A democracy that gets hurt by books, but not the body bags

March 5, 2014
By Avinash Pandey

At 218 in 2013 and 237 in 2012, one would expect a national outrage on the unusually high number of body bags returning to India from Qatar. One would think especially so, for the fact that these body bags belonged to Indian citizens. It must have incensed even the apologists of neoliberal regime for whom the idea of citizenship might be passΓ© but still value the significant foreign remittances sent by those who came back in the body bags, remittances that the country so desperately needs.

Shockingly, the body bags failed to evoke even an acknowledgment from powers that be. Nobody even knew, in fact, until Nepal, that tiny neigbour perpetually in transition, took Qatar to a task for the 385 body bags it had received in the same period; during the construction of stadiums and other buildings for the 2024 world cup hosts. No one in the Indian government seemed too bothered, even after that, despite the fact that the death of Nepalese migrant workers had angered everyone from the international human rights organsiations to the The FΓ©dΓ©ration Internationale de Football Association(FIFA), who rose to the news and confronted Qatari administration.

(File Photograph of  Wendy Doniger, author of , The Hindus: An Alternative History - courtesy: bbc.co.uk.)

The silence of Indian government is understandable; it has rarely shown much concern for its citizenry that lives inside the country forget those stuck in foreign shores, by choice or compulsion. Nothing can explain, though, the baffling silence maintained by its otherwise emotional citizenry that seems to perpetually wait for invitation to acknowledge some hurt or other over its sentiments. Had India suddenly ceased to be a republic of hurt sentiments? Going by the recent developments, including the recall and pulping of Wendy Doniger's academic book, The Hindus: An Alternative History by its publisher over the β€œhurt” it caused to some obscure hindu organistions despite a vast majority of Hindus including its priesthood having had no objection to the same, it has not.

The Indians, have been notorious for getting hurt by anything and everything under the sun. Tell us about an β€œoffensive” book and our emotional hearts would be enraged enough to burn bookstores down and make a bonfire of invaluable manuscripts. Know that, if you must, we are most likely to do it without even having a cursory glance at the book, let alone reading it. Tell us about a still under production movie depicting our culture in poor light still under production, and we can even put water on fire.

Ironically, Indian do not even need religious, sectarian, or whatever other names such zealots choose for themselves for getting hurt. We can feel offended at will and then go on correcting that by assaulting the source of that hurt and with it basic tenets of democracy. Being the self designated largest democracy of the world helps after all. We can burn our books without needing to have a Taliban like that β€˜failed’, β€˜rogue’ and always- at-war –with- itself neighbor for doing such small favours.

Where has this hurt gone, then, when the body bags were piling up? Why were they so blissfully unaware of and we sleeping to the the kafala system prevailing in Qatar for contractual migrant workers. For the uninitiated, workers are tied to their employer and not allowed to change jobs or leave the country without permission under this modern incarnation of slavery. If there were enough indications for the government that a tragedy is building up in Qatar, there were even more for the citizenry. The body bags were returning to villages and towns these workers Indian citizens if one needs to be get reminded were from.

There were other workers, not dead but disabled and paralyzed because of falls from work on skyscrapers, stadium towers, and so on, returning to these villages. There were even others stranded for months, at times even an years, rotting in Qatar. Most cases involve workers who were not issued a residence permit by their employers who are thus avoiding the responsibility of footing the medical bills even in cases of accidents at worksite. These workers are rarely capable of paying the very high private fees charged to non-citizens for treatment. Qatar has, of course, enacted a new law for improving health insurance coverage for migrant workers, but that will only come in force in 2016.

The embassy must have known about these workers. It cannot pretend otherwise as many of the regional and international human rights and workers rights organization have painstakingly documented the pitiable living and working conditions prevailing in the country. International Trade Union Confederation, for example, had exposed the incidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project together with other serious problems, like confiscation of workers’ passports and forcing them to work for 24 hours without break while witholding drinking water even when temperatures exceed 50 degree Celsius. Forced labour in such challenging climatic conditions has led to many cases of sudden strokes from such sites, these must have included Indian workers and the embassy must have known.

It must have known as the issue was raised in European parliament with the officialdom of FIFA in attendance. It must have known that as there are strong demands to strip Doha, the capital of Qatar, off hosting FIFA World Cup 2024. It must have known about FIFA being in denial mode and arguing that any such act would be counterproductive despite Theo Zwanzinger, Germany's member of the Fifa executive, conceding that the working conditions there are "absolutely unacceptable". The embassy must have told the same to the government of India.

The immigration system must have known about them, at least those who were returning paralyzed or in other very serious conditions. Thegovernment must have known too. It would be nothing less than criminal dereliction of duty had it not been reported to them, and the government, in turn, is duty bound to ensure that every citizen of India lives with dignity and is saved from harm unless under due process of law wherever in the world s/he is. This is why it claims to be treated as parens patriae (parent of the citizens) and seek the rights to negotiate on behalf of them as the sole representative on all national and international fora. It has shamelessly failed itself in protecting the lives of its citizens in Qatar. The citizenry have failed their compatriots without doing even as much as shedding tears.

It is time for the government to ake up to this issue and if it does not then for the citizenry to wake it up with a start than getting its sentiments hurt offended by the petty pranks for pettier interests played by power seekers. Nothing should infuriate a nation more than its citizens getting killed by something as nasty as modern day slavery. It is time to confront both the government of Qatar and FIFA, telling them that no world cup carnival is bigger than the lives of any countries’ workers, for that reason.. We must also put things in now; not a single accidental death had taken place on the construction sites of London Olympics, there is no reason Qatar and FIFA can be excused for so many.

If there ever was a time for the government to act and the citizens to get hurt, this is that time. Not the least because the Indian citizen that returned home in a body bag the other day was 717th to do so

# # #
About the Author: Mr. Pandey, alias Samar is Programme Coordinator, Right to Food Programme, He can be contacted at samar@ahrc.asia

FM

Qatar's foreign domestic workers subjected to slave-like conditions

Revelations of mistreatment of maids and cleaners add to picture of widespread labour abuse in World Cup host nation
Qatari women with maid
Qatari women with their children and housemaid strolling in Doha. Photograph: Stock Connection/REX

Foreign maids, cleaners and other domestic workers are being subjected to slave-like labour conditions in Qatar, with many complaining they have been deprived of passports, wages, days off, holidays and freedom to move jobs, a Guardian investigation can reveal.

Hundreds of Filipino maids have fled to their embassy in recent months because conditions are so harsh. Many complain of physical and sexual abuse, harassment, long periods without pay and the confiscation of mobile phones.

The exploitation raises further concerns about labour practices in Qatar in advance of the World Cup, after Guardian reports about the treatment of construction workers. The maids are not directly connected to Qatar's preparations for the football tournament, but domestic workers will play a big role in staffing the hotels, stadiums and other infrastructure that will underpin the 2022 tournament.

Our investigation reveals:

β€’ The Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) sheltered more than 600 runaway maids in the first six months of 2013 alone.

β€’ Some workers say they have not been paid for months.

β€’ Many housemaids do not get days off.

β€’ Some contracts and job descriptions are changed once the workers arrive in Qatar.

β€’ Women who report a sexual assault can be charged with illicit relations.

The non-payment of wages, confiscation of documents and inability of workers to leave their employer constitute forced labour under UN rules. According to the International Labour Organisation, forced labour is "all work which is exacted from someone under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily".

Lack of consent can include induced indebtedness and deception about the type and terms of work, withholding or non-payment of wages and the retention of identity documents. Initial consent may be considered irrelevant when deception or fraud has been used to obtain it.

"Menace of penalty" can include physical violence, deprivation of food and shelter, non-payment of wages, the inability to repay a loan, exclusion from future employment and removal of rights and privileges.

Modern-day slavery is estimated to affect up to 21 million people across the globe.

When the Guardian visited in January, at least 35 runaway maids had sought sanctuary at the POLO in the capital, Doha, which provides support to 200,000 Filipinos in Qatar. The welfare officer said most complained of pay being withheld, insufficient food, overwork and maltreatment. Some said they had endured verbal and physical abuse by sponsors of different nationalities.

Eight Filipino workers interviewed by the Guardian said they had not been paid for six months, were sometimes deprived of food while cleaning for long hours and had had their passports confiscated.

"We are afraid," said 28-year-old Jane*. "We don't really know what to do. We are trying to survive. That's why we do part-time jobs secretly." If they are caught breaching their contract, the maids face months in a deportation centre. The repatriation process is often delayed when people do not have their passports, according to James Lynch, Amnesty International's researcher on Gulf migrants' rights.

Qatar vigorously denies it is a "slave state" and is understood to be reviewing the controversial system that governs migrant labour, and to have stepped up inspections of businesses that use migrant labour. The Qatari labour ministry said in a statement: "We have clear laws and contractual terms in place to protect all people who live and work in Qatar and anyone found to have broken those laws will be prosecuted accordingly." It said that non-payment of wages and confiscation of passports were illegal in Qatar, and added: "The vast majority of workers in Qatar – domestic or otherwise – work amicably, save money and send this home to improve the economic situation of their families and communities in their home countries."

But the Philippines-based OFW (Overseas Foreign Workers) Watch, which supports Filipino migrant workers, said physical abuse, delayed and refused salaries, the misrepresentation of employers and contracts and passport confiscations were common issues in Qatar. The Guardian has already highlighted this malpractice in its investigation into themistreatment of migrant workers as Qatar gears up for the 2022 World Cup.

As with the construction workers, the abuse of maids is systemic and brought into sharp focus by a lack of legal protection and the kafalasponsorship system, under which workers cannot leave the country or change jobs without their employer's permission, Lynch said.

"The women we've spoken to who have suffered abuses in the workplace, ranging from excessive working hours to physical violence, their employers came from a variety of countries," he added.

Many maids say they do not get any rest days and that employers confiscate their mobile phones.

Several recruitment agencies contacted by phone told a Guardian reporter pretending to be a would-be client that they routinely withheld the passports of their migrant workers. One agency volunteered that it was up to the sponsor whether the maid had a day off. "If you want to give an off day, let them rest at your house," an Al Hadeel Manpower representative said. "Don't give them free days outside because there is more problems outside."

Domestic workers are not covered by Qatar's labour laws and cannot challenge their contracts in court.

FranΓ§ois CrΓ©peau, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, said he was told during his eight-day visit to Doha in November that if some sponsors disliked the maid, they could have her arrested for theft. "These are all hearsay stories, but it was quite frequent," he said.

CrΓ©peau, who will present a report of his Qatar trip to the UN in June, said he saw about 100 maids at the Philippine labour office waiting to be moved to the deportation centre, which housed about 1,300 people when he visited. He also visited the Central Prison, where he found women imprisoned with their babies as they served one-year sentences for adultery because they were unmarried.

Sharan Burrow, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said some imprisoned babies were conceived when their mothers were raped by their employers.

The penalty for rape in Qatar is life imprisonment and, under some circumstances, death. Sexual harassment is illegal, but women who report such cases risk being charged with having illicit relations.

"They've become enslaved in Qatar, forced into abusive relationships, often become pregnant as a result of forced sexual relationships or rape and then the perpetrator has total power and refuses to sign an exit visa, so they end up imprisoned," Burrow said.

Crescente Relacion, the Philippine ambassador to Qatar, who declined to be interviewed but issued a written response to Guardian questions, said the embassy had assisted the fewer than five expatriates who had filed such charges with police in 2013. "Some victims have decided to settle amicably or not to file charges as doing so would significantly delay the repatriation," he said.

Case study

One runaway maid, Vanessa, fled to the Philippine women's shelter with only the clothes she was wearing because she said her employers of four years had cancelled her flight back home and confiscated her belongings for shouting at their children.

Vanessa said she had not had a day off in four years, but she did not regard playing with the children as work. She alleges the Indian mother of the family that employed her struck her because she did not want Vanessa to feed her infant son. "She hit my face because, yes, I admit that it's my fault because I fed the baby," she said. "What I didn't accept is that they took everything."

Among the items were precious photographs of her 10-year-old daughter, whom she has seen once during her only holiday, when she visited her mother in the Philippines in 2011, her mobile phone and 42,500 pesos (Β£580), she said. "Maybe they're telling to the police that I steal, but only God knows."

Because of the kafala system, Vanessa could not simply turn her back on her job or seek alternative employment. She is tethered to the employer via the sponsor who supports her migrant status in Qatar. She was faced with an unpleasant choice: tolerate the abuse or run away.

*Names withheld to protect identities

FM

Don't blame the arabs.  Arabs will always help each other and if they can help an Iranian they will.  Many East Indians/ South Asians have only absolute hate and discrimination for their fellow East Indians/ South Asians. Did the arabs discriminate against their fellow arabs dalit style?  Did the arabs kill thousands of arabs in 1947? Did the arabs build Atomic bombs to kill their fellow arabs?  Did the arabs murderously attack Ravi Dev's supporters?

Wally
Originally Posted by Prashad:

Some of those Arab countries have allowed Hindu temples to be built there recently.  I was surprised to find out last year that Pakistan has many Hindu temples also.  Some of them are thousands of years old.  Pakistan has over one million Hindus mostly living in the Sindh and Punjab areas of the country. 

Pakistan was part of India...after the separation the Hindu migration to India has been a constant...

FM
Originally Posted by Prashad:

Some of those Arab countries have allowed Hindu temples to be built there recently.  I was surprised to find out last year that Pakistan has many Hindu temples also.  Some of them are thousands of years old.  Pakistan has over one million Hindus mostly living in the Sindh and Punjab areas of the country. 

You smokin some nice ganja dey.

FM
Originally Posted by Wally:

Don't blame the arabs.  Arabs will always help each other and if they can help an Iranian they will.  Many East Indians/ South Asians have only absolute hate and discrimination for their fellow East Indians/ South Asians. Did the arabs discriminate against their fellow arabs dalit style?  Did the arabs kill thousands of arabs in 1947? Did the arabs build Atomic bombs to kill their fellow arabs?  Did the arabs murderously attack Ravi Dev's supporters?

 

Ask them what they will do to an Ahmadiyya.

 

FM
Originally Posted by yuji22:
Originally Posted by Wally:

Don't blame the arabs.  Arabs will always help each other and if they can help an Iranian they will.  Many East Indians/ South Asians have only absolute hate and discrimination for their fellow East Indians/ South Asians. Did the arabs discriminate against their fellow arabs dalit style?  Did the arabs kill thousands of arabs in 1947? Did the arabs build Atomic bombs to kill their fellow arabs?  Did the arabs murderously attack Ravi Dev's supporters?

 

Ask them what they will do to an Ahmadiyya.

 

 

How about differences between:

Sunnis and Shiites

 

Get your facts right.

FM
Originally Posted by caribny:
Originally Posted by Lucas:

Good Question !!!!!!

Can you call them people?


Lucas before posting on GNI ensure that you take your medication.  Because you never do your posts are as incoherent as a man who escaped a lunatic asylum.

It is actually the same questions Arabs ask themselves when they mistreat Indians...

FM

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