By Leo Rando from Argentina
Questioned since its designation and carried out on labor exploitation and the constant violation of human rights, Qatar will be the first Arab country to host the world’s top soccer event.
The World Cup, which will begin on November 21st and end on December 18th and which for the first time will be played on this unusual date due to the high temperatures of July and August in the Arab country, has been questioned since the very first minute of its designation. In 2010, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), under the leadership of Joseph Blatter, announced that this country, which had never qualified for a World Cup before, would host the championship in 2022.
Qatar is an absolute monarchy that has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Since 2013 the Qatari emir has been his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who accessed the position after the abdication of his father. Qatar has the world’s third largest natural gas reserves, which has turned the small emirate into the country with the highest per capita income on the planet. The nation maintains very close relations with various Western and Asian powers and on numerous occasions has acted as a bridge between Muslim states and the rest of the world. Qatar has a population of more than two million people, the curious thing is that only 250,000 are Qatari citizens. Most of its inhabitants are foreigners who work and live there. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, among other Muslim states, severed diplomatic relations with the country and imposed a blockade, accusing it of supporting and financing terrorism, as well as manipulating the internal affairs of its neighboring states, as a result of a long-standing escalation of tensions with Saudi Arabia.
Its designation sparked accusations that FIFA members had been bribed. An independent investigation commissioned by the Football Federation found no evidence. Although that case was closed, a corruption case initiated by French authorities is still open and in 2020 the United States accused three FIFA officials of receiving payments. During all these years, the Qatari authorities have denied all these accusations. Meanwhile, the current FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared at the draw for the competition that took place just over a month ago that “it will be the best World Cup ever.”
Labor exploitation and death for the set-up
For the start of the tournament, Qatar has built new stadiums, an airport, a metro system and several roads to welcome tourists from all over the world. To this end, it has employed 1.7 million foreign workers, representing 90% of the workforce[1]. Most of the migrants come from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, working on the renovation of the iconic Jalifa stadium and the landscaping of the surrounding sports facilities and green areas, the so-called “Aspire Zone”.
The Qatari government was criticized and blamed for the treatment of migrant workers as many cannot switch jobs, are banned from leaving the country, suffer overcrowded conditions and lack of health and safety, and often have to wait months to collect their wages while FIFA, its sponsors and the construction companies involved stand to make massive profits. The construction company Six Construct, which is renovating the Jalifa stadium, expects to earn more than $90 million. In addition, workers coming to work in Qatar pay in their home countries sums ranging from $500 to $4,300 to contractor companies. Many of them arrive in debt and with the promise of receiving 300 dollars a month and end up receiving between 190 and 220 dollars and cannot complain because they run the risk of losing their jobs.
Different organizations have warned about the number of workers who have died as a result of labor exploitation. The Guardian newspaper put the number of these deaths at 6,500, based mainly on data provided by the workers’ countries of origin[2]. Amnesty International verified numerous death certificates of migrant workers in their 30s and 40s. All of them simply attribute the cause of death to “natural causes” or “heart failure” without specifying anything else. The International Labor Organization (ILO) claims that 50 workers died and more than 500 were seriously injured in 2021 alone, and another 37,600 suffered minor or moderate injuries. The Qatari government responded that the numbers are overestimated and recognize only 37 workers killed between 2014 and 2020 linked to the construction of the stadiums.
Qatar: between backwardness and constant violation of human rights
To begin with, we should know that a recent law restricts freedom of expression. If biased, false or anti-government information is published, the punishment is five years in prison and a fine of up to 25,000 dollars.
Discrimination against women is a constant. There are legal obstacles in the country to get a divorce, and those who do so are economically disadvantaged. Women under 25 years of age need permission from their guardians for activities such as traveling abroad, signing a contract, or even leaving home.
In addition, homosexuality is considered illegal in the country and the penalty for inciting “sodomy or debauchery” or “immoral actions” is seven years in prison. In an interview, the chairman of the World Cup organizing committee, Nasser Al Khater, assured that the country welcomes homosexual people, but advised them not to show their affection in public if they attended the tournament. In addition, the tournament organizers have also warned that they will remove the rainbow flags from the stadiums with the justification that this would be done “to protect” whoever displays it. For his part Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Organization and Legacy Committee, responsible for managing the World Cup projects assured that everyone will be welcome and that the safety of the attendees will be guaranteed: “We’re a relatively conservative country, which means public display of affection is something that is not within our culture.But hospitality and welcoming people from different parts of the world into our country is part of our culture.”
The show must not always go on
Federations that are part of FIFA such as Germany, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark have publicly raised concerns about human rights violations in the host country. England coach Gareth Southgate said it would be “very shameful” if some fans could not attend the World Cup for fear of how they might be treated. The chief executive of the Danish federation, Joakob Jensen, anticipated that his team will not have the logos of its commercial sponsors on the jerseys but “messages that will promote human rights.”
During the European qualifiers, the various teams mentioned above displayed T-shirts demanding human rights as a sign of protest against whatever happens in Qatar. However, so far no team has refused to play in the World Cup.
Several soccer supporters’ associations and human rights organizations in Germany have launched a joint action to denounce and boycott the Qatar 2022 World Cup. A number of players and former players also spoke out. Tony Kross, current Real Madrid player, questioned the labor exploitation ” immigrants work without a break at 50 degrees, with insufficient food and without drinking water”. Eric Cantona, glory of Manchester United and the French national team went a little further by saying: “I will not watch the World Cup, people have died building stadiums. It’s horrible.”
But the fight against the violation of human rights also occurs in other countries in the run-up to the competition, in recent days the PIT CNT, the Uruguayan workers’ central, asked the Uruguayan Football Federation that their national team will not train in Israeli territory for Qatar 2022. The genocidal State of Israel assassinated 2 players of the Al Khader club in these two months as it does with hundreds of civilians in Palestinian territory every day, for this and other reasons they made this request which we support.
Capitalism uses the most popular sport to maximize its profits and to do so imposes conditions of super-exploitation and violation of human rights that must be condemned in Qatar and around the world. The lives of workers and respect for human rights are above any sporting spectacle, which is why this World Cup should have been questioned from the start and not held in this country. However, the business goes on. In our country, as always, the AFA looks the other way and takes part in the business without even raising its voice or issuing any complaint. A complicit silence that brings shame, as so many other times, when we should demand a change of venue for the World Cup. Millions of workers and young people want to enjoy the World Cup, Messi, the Scaloneta and the good moment, something very logical. The passion for our popular sport is huge and understandable. And at the same time it does not eliminate the need to denounce in depth this World Cup, to make visible the atrocities of the Quatar regime and to call attention in every way we can, in the face of such a combination of death, repression and millionaire business for a very few.
[1] https://www.amnesty.org/es/latest/campaigns/2016/03/qatar-world-cup-of-shame/
[2] https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-60956441.amp