Qatar: 6,500 migrant workers died in preparation for World Cup.

Latha Bollapally, with her son Rajesh Goud,
holds a picture of her husband, Madhu Bollapally,
 43, a migrant worker who died in Qatar. Photograph: Kailash Nirmal

Qatar -- They came from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka as migrant workers, just a small step above a slave, to help build a stadium in the middle of a desert to host the World Cup. It began 10 years ago and since then, more than 6,500 migrant workers have died, according to the UK Guardian.

The data was extracted from government sources and indicates that the mean average of weekly deaths from these five South Asian countries came to twelve since December 2010 when Doha's streets overflowed with celebrants of Qatar's victory.

Data from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka revealed there were 5,927 deaths of migrant workers in the period 2011–2020. Pakistan's embassy in Qatar reported an additional 824 deaths between 2010 and 2020.

Mohammad Shahid Miah

Mohammad Shahid Miah, 29, from Bangladesh, died when floodwater in his room came into contact with an exposed electric cable, electrocuting him.

And the death toll quoted doesn't include figures from other countries which send large numbers of migrant workers to Qatar, such as the Philippines and Kenya, nor were the 2021 deaths included in these figures.

Over the past 10 years, Qatar has been building feverishly, mostly in preparation of the 2022 World Cup. But there are also seven new stadiums and scores of major undertakings that have been completed or are under way, such as an airport, new roads, public transport systems, a new city and hotels that will be hosting the big game.

Death records are not explicit in terms of the deceased occupation or place of work, but it's probable that many of those who died were employed on the World Cup's infrastructure projects, according to Nick McGeehan, a director at FairSquare Projects, a labor rights advocacy group. “A very significant proportion of the migrant workers who have died since 2011 were only in the country because Qatar won the right to host the World Cup,” McGeehan said.

There have been 37 deaths among workers directly linked to construction of World Cup stadiums. Of these, 34 are categorized as "non-work related" as per the event's organizing committee, who has skin in the game of not looking responsible for the deaths.

But some experts have questioned the use of the term "non-work related" is accurate as it has, at least in some cases, been used to describe deaths which have occurred on the job, including a number of migrant workers who have collapsed and died on stadium construction sites.

Laborers from Nepal put up scaffolding.
Photograph: Pete Pattisson

The findings expose Qatar’s inability or indifference to protect its 2 million-strong migrant workforce, or even investigate the causes of the high rate of death among the largely young workers, many of whom were the main breadwinners of their respective families.

In one case, Ghal Singh Rai from Nepal paid nearly £1,000 in recruitment fees for his job as a cleaner in a camp for workers building the Education City World Cup stadium. Within a week of arriving, he killed himself. 

The family of Madhu Bollapally of India never understood how the healthy 43-year old died of “natural causes” while working in Qatar. His body was found lying on his dorm room floor.

Many deaths were caused by blunt injuries due to falls from height. Others were caused by hanging, and undetermined deaths were due to decomposition of the bodies. 

The most common cause thus far, is listed as "natural deaths" often attributed to acute heart or respiratory failure.

Based on the data obtained by the outlet: 69% of deaths among Indian, Nepali and Bangladeshi workers are categorized as natural. Among Indians alone, the figure is 80%.

The Guardian has previously reported that such classifications, which are usually made without an autopsy, often fail to provide a legitimate medical explanation for the underlying cause of these deaths.

In 2019 it found that  Qatar’s intense summer heat is likely to be a significant factor in many worker deaths and the findings were supported by research commissioned by the UN's International Labor Organization. The research showed that for at least four months of the year workers faced significant heat stress when working outside.

Even the Qatar government’s own lawyers in 2014 recommended that a study be commissioned to look into the deaths of migrant workers from cardiac arrest, and amend the law to “allow for autopsies … in all cases of unexpected or sudden death.”

The government has done neither.

Since Sharia [Islamic law] is the primary source of Qatari legislation, according to their Constitution, perhaps they can use the stadiums that will be left standing after the World Cup is done for that purpose.

For example, if a Qatari Muslim woman commits adultery with a non-Muslim man [a kaffir], she can be given her 100 lashes at mid-field. If a Muslim man has an alcoholic drink, he can get his 40 lashes by the goal post of his choice.

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