Who will be responsible for the consequences of the dead migrant workers in Qatar?
This is the chain of events:
- 2010: In spite of reports of hundreds of dead migrant workers in Qatar: FIFA and Sepp Blatter announced that Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, after the FIFA Executive Committee voted in a secret ballot on 2 December 2010 in Zurich.
- 2012-2013: The Guardian subsequently revealed that more than 380 Nepalese workers had died in 2012 and 2013, and more than 500 Indian migrants have died in Qatar since January 2012, according to official figures.
- 2014: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) estimates that at least 4,000 more workers will die before the start of the World Cup in 2022. Whether the cause of death is labelled a work accident, heart attack (brought on by the life threatening effects of heat stress) or diseases from squalid living conditions, the root cause is the same — working conditions.
- 2015: The death rates of migrant workers in Qatar is still counting day by day.
- 2016: New FIFA president Gianni Infantino promises reforms but will it affect Qatar 2022?
Gianni Infantino
Before 2010: One must ask how many migrant workers died in Qatar before the country was chosen to host the World Cup 2022. The number of dead before 2010 and awareness of them were not hidden from anyone in any way. From a purely human perspective, how is it that FIFA still chose Qatar as the host? In one of FIFA’s previous CSR Policies (version 28.4.2014) they stated: “…Providing a safe and healthy working environment for all of our people is a basic responsibility, and is fundamental to the success of FIFA…”.
Who will be responsible for the consequences of the dead migrant workers in Qatar? The need and the supply chain of migrant workers and the accountability along that chain can be questioned. At the opposite end of FIFA there are the wives, children and families who mourn a husband, a father and in many cases the loss of the family’s only source of income. This becomes a tragic family destiny where the children often are removed and separated from their only living parent.
Sachina – her father died as a migrant worker in Qatar, today Sachina is in care of Chhahari Organization Nepal.
An example is Sachina whose father was a migrant worker. He was 28 years old when he died in Qatar and Sachina was only 6. The cause is unclear because the death certificate was probably tampered and without any compensation Sachinas mother was forced to leave her away. Fortunately, there are volunteer organizations that take care of these children. Today Sachina is in good care of Chhahari Organization Nepal.
The question still remains unanswered; should Qatar host the World Cup 2022?