Whilr most of us watched the World Cup unfold from the comfort of our couches, this writer watched the World Cup Final game with the workers at a work camp in Qatar. Still up in the air if Qatar will host the next World Cup or not. Quite a different perspective form those out in the 114 degree heat. If this strikes a nerve for all of you futbol fans who care about human rights, let Sepp Blatter (head honcho of FIFA) know. If the World Cup IS held in Qatar I hope the US has the courage and conviction to boycott. DISPATCH Its Like Jail Here Watching the World Cup finals in the labor camps of Qatar. If the World Cup comes to Qatar in 2022, of course Id welcome it, Indra said. I want it to be here, but they should improve our conditions. Indra and his friends are among the 1.3 million migrant workers in Qatar, mostly from South and Southeast Asia, who make up 94 percent of the countrys workforce and are often forced to work in dangerous and dismal conditions, without the ability to quit or change their jobs. Over the next eight years, it is the labor of migrants like them that will build eight new state-of-the-art stadiums from the ground up in preparation for the 2022 World Cup. They will pave the countrys roads and dig a $34 billion metro and rail system to transport fans around the country. They will raise dozens of new hotels, and they will wait upon the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans who will descend on the country in the cafes and restaurants yet to be built. If the Cup, that is, actually makes it Qatar at all. * * * Over the past several months, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has faced increasing public pressure to move the tournament to another country. By the end of July, FIFAs ethics committee is due to report back on corruption allegations surrounding Qatars bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Its not only corruption but the conditions of workers in Qatar that have raised international criticism: The International Trade Union Confederation, a workers rights lobbying group based in Brussels, began a Rerun the Vote campaign in April 2013 asking for the World Cup to be moved from Qatar due to egregious labor rights violations. More than 4,000 workers will die before a ball is kicked in 2022, General Secretary Sharan Burrow has repeatedly told the media. Working in Qatar is dangerous business. The high temperature on the day of the World Cup final was a staggering 116 degrees Fahrenheit -- and workers often toil for 12 or more hours a day, spending long periods in the glaring desert sun. Many survive on meager meals, while others say employers dont provide them with proper drinking water. Many survive on meager meals, while others say employers dont provide them with proper drinking water. Labor camps can be overcrowded, some have broken air conditioning or irregular water and electricity supply, and some employers dont even provide bedding or cooking equipment. According to official government data, the main cause of migrant worker deaths was sudden cardiac arrest -- unusual among young and physically active men. Worker advocates have speculated that the combination of grueling working conditions and little rest have resulted in what Nepali migrants call the sleeping death. Indra knows well how risky it can be to depend on employers in Qatar. His brother suffered a serious kidney condition, causing his employers to send him back to Nepal because they had not purchased the health insurance coverage required by law. Unable to afford proper care, he died. Indras cousin also died, in a car accident on the job in Qatar -- but the company did not provide them with death compensation, he said, though Qatari law requires them to do so. Yet he and Kesar fear that if the tournament is moved, the government will not deliver on its promises for labor reform. In particular, they say, theyre waiting for changes to the kafala, or sponsorship system. In mid-May, Qatari government officials held a press conference in which they announced that the country would soon abolish the kafala, which ties a workers legal residency to a single employer. If a worker quits or leaves without his employers permission, the employer must report him to the nearest police station for absconding, which automatically cancels the workers visa. Human rights groups have criticized the system for enabling forced labor and perpetuating human trafficking.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:46:15 +0000
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