Qatar puts World Cup 2022 preparations before the health of foreign workers

Qatar is suffering from the scourge of the COVID-19 disease outbreak and has made no effort to develop preventive health measures against the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far left seven dead and more than 4,000 cases diagnosed throughout its territory; this has resulted in a high rate of infection compared to the rest of the Middle East region. Foreign workers are not spared from this situation and face the inflexible stance of the Qatari authorities despite the current situation, particularly with regard to infrastructure development work linked to the forthcoming football World Cup in 2022, a date in which the authorities of the Gulf country have invested a lot of money.

These immigrant workers carry out their work at forced marches given the importance the Arab nation attaches to the event it intends to hold in a couple of years' time and are forced to continue with the work they have been given under poor working conditions despite the current global health crisis. Despite international calls by major international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) for a basic quarantine and social distancing procedure to prevent further contagion, these foreign workers have been excluded, who are forced to work without even the slightest health measures and to live in overcrowded camps, thus exposing themselves to a greater risk of COVID-19, which can lead to a much greater danger of transmission of the disease to the rest of the country, despite the isolation of the industrial zones and the areas where these foreign workers are housed. 

The government of Qatar claims that it is making efforts to protect workers who have been separated from safety and isolation measures to prevent COVID-19, while international reports from human rights organisations, media reports such as Foreign Policy and testimonies from those affected provide a more accurate version of the stark reality, which explains why Qatar has the highest rate of coronavirus infection within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) group of nations.
 

Doha has already acknowledged that five workers have contracted the COVID-19, in a general panorama with seven deaths and more than 4,000 affected in the Qatari nation. This is the first time that positive diagnoses have been revealed among workers in the middle of the 2022 World Cup stadium construction. Organisers of the Supreme Committee for the Legacy confirmed to the AFP agency that two members working on the Al-Thumama stadium tested positive for coronavirus, along with three other workers connected with the construction of the Al-Rayyam stadium and two on the Al-Bayt field. 

In this harsh scenario, migrant workers are allegedly threatened with deportation if they report what is happening and therefore many remain silent. Several reports indicate that the number of those infected may be much higher than acknowledged by the Qatari leadership, as a large number of workers do not report their condition, especially if their symptoms are not clear.
 

The State of Qatar had to admit the first cases diagnosed among workers on the construction sites of the 2022 football World Cup in view of reports by media such as Foreign Policy or The New York Times, or investigations published by international human rights bodies such as Human Rights Watch; all of which report that the labour system does not respect minimum health safety measures or favour recommendations on social distancing, which means that there is a high risk of transmission among workers, and most dangerously, that the infection can spread from them to the rest of the population.

Along the same lines, Bin Hubbard told the Nineroke Times that Qatar has kept tens of thousands of migrant workers in overcrowded housing, raising fears that it could become a focus for the spread of the coronavirus. He also noted that this situation no longer affects only the staff of World Cup facilities, but also workers in important sectors such as oil and gas. 
 

In view of Qatar's history of violations of workers' rights, especially since the start of work on World Cup infrastructure, a number of non-governmental organizations and trade unions sent an open letter to Qatar on 31 March 2020 calling for migrant workers to have adequate access to medical care and testing for the coronavirus, as this is not only a human rights issue but also a public health one.

The working conditions of migrants on Qatari soil had been reported on various social networks and it had been pointed out that Qatar had taken action in response to COVID-19 by closing public places while housing foreign workers in industrial areas on the outskirts. 
 

On the other hand, several observers highlighted that Qatar has taken advantage of the current pandemic to get rid of hundreds of foreign workers, especially coinciding with the completion of several projects. And precisely at this time, some signs of rebellion among workers have emerged. 

Qatari law In the country lead by the emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani prohibits migrant workers from joining trade unions or participating in strikes. The Qatari authorities have a strict policy against those who break the law and this creates fear among the working community. But in recent months, workers broke the barrier of fear and spoke out against Qatari regulations, realising that the favourable situation they expected in the Gulf country (many of these workers come from more depressed areas of Asia) was not so good and that they had ended up in a real 'hell' of poor working conditions. 
 

After Qatar won the hosting of the 2022 World Cup, several controversies like this one regarding immigrant workers and others related to the investigation of bribes made in order to obtain the status of World Cup host in two years time, have led to controversy and many people's opinion about the suitability of Qatar as the host country.

Joseph Blatter, former president of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), himself referred to this point, saying that perhaps even the United States could take over the organisation of the 2022 World Cup from Qatar in view of the controversy that has arisen. He pointed out those linked to the investigation of alleged bribes from Qatar's leaders to officials of FIFA's Executive Committee to vote in favour of the Gulf country's bid to host the World Cup or alleged hidden payments of millions from the Qatar state-owned television station Al-Jazeera to officials of world football's top governing body, matters that were already echoed by Atalayar.