Norway players show of support for Qatar migrant workers

[asredastheycome]

Worked their in the 80's not nice people at all. Remember an Indian welder who had just completed a two year contract(straight off no popping home every few weeks). When he was due to go they told him the had no one to replace him so he would have to stay another year. Guy was heartbroken but said if he went home they wouldn't pay him what he was owed. Loads of other stories like that. The Qataris would say its not our doing its the agency but the could have put a stop to it in a second but just turned a blind eye.

 

[BoroFur]

Any attempt to downplay the number of migrants who have died since the building programme commenced is disgraceful.

Although not all deaths reported have been directly linked to the stadium building programme many deaths have occurred indirectly on associated infrastructure projects.

Apparently dying from the effects of heat exhaustion or malnutrition is classed as 'natural causes' in Qatar.

 

[Liamo]

I admire their stance but FIFA will just fine them for making a political statement - which is shocking as they cannot be having a go like that, its just not on you know.

From the linked article.

Football's world governing body, Fifa, said Norway will not face "disciplinary proceedings" for the protest.

 

[uncle_rico]

What is the number of people we would expect to be dying over this period of time?

FIFA have said that those numbers are in line with what would be expected. They’re sick!

 

[BoroFur]

Germany players follow suit

'Germany show support for Qatar World Cup's migrant workers' http://www.skysports.com/share/12256927

 

[jonny_greenings_sock]

Qatar bought it - obviously through the rampant corruption at FIFA but also through the massive investment in Barcelona, the Premier League and wherever else Emirati money has gone over the last decade. To quote someone else who’s quoted the Wire in this thread, all the pieces matter.

Strong statement but I was disgusted when those two hosts were announced, still was years later. Russia invaded a sovereign European nation and had a state doping program in athletics serious enough to merit an Olympic ban, no World Cup consequences except a whitewashed investigation.

Qatar for me was worse, having no culture of football at all, no infrastructure, quite apart from the human rights issues and not to mention the climate, which makes football almost impossible. I could almost forgive it if it was a tinpot dictatorship with a massive population of fanatical football fans, but this is just selling out every principle to a blizzard of petro-dollars.

By the same margin, the Russia World Cup was a marvellous sporting event, I loved it. But wouldn’t consider attending either for a second. Brazil, I’d have given anything to go to.

The World Cup is a really, really special event, and it shouldn’t be sullied by this kind of corruption. The USA getting it again shouldn’t be happening either, when there’s so many countries in the Americas who are football-daft and historic powerhouses.

 

[Colgates_shaving_foam]

There is no way we should be participating in the Qatar World Cup, we should qualify and then pull out of the competition due to the murderous regime over there.

No reason we couldn't get together with some of the other countries who qualified and hold our own seperate tournament; if we managed to do this in reality it would end the World Cup in Qatar and possibly FIFA which could only be a good thing.

 

[Liamo]

FIFA have said that those numbers are in line with what would be expected. They’re sick!

I don't see where FIFA is saying that. In the original article that is linked to, it's the Qataris who are making that statement. Also, how do we know the numbers are not what would normally occur in the same population? No other figures have been given for comparison, so we have no real context.

Now, I think there's little doubt that the conditions for many, many of the foreign workers in Qatar are exploitative and abusive.

However, as the Guardian article this is based on makes clear, this is deaths among migrant workers from South Asia in all sectors of the economy in Qatar, including those in office jobs and those working in areas that have nothing to do with the World Cup facilities, over a ten year period.

What it doesn't say, for instance, is what the total number of such workers in Qatar is. (A quick Google search shows that there are over 1.5 million of them).

I'm not sure what the expected yearly fatality rate for 1.5 million South Asian workers is, so I don't know whether 6,500 deaths over ten years is exceptional or not.

It's perhaps with noting that the same Guardian article that gives the 6,500 total figure also states that there are officially only:

37 deaths among workers directly linked to construction of World Cup stadiums.

 

[LowMoorBoro]

I agree with those saying nothing will happen unfortunately. It would need big teams to threaten to boycott, which could then need sponsors to threaten to pull out so FIFA would lose money.
Money is the only real language FIFA speaks.

 

[Nero]

Worked their in the 80's not nice people at all. Remember an Indian welder who had just completed a two year contract(straight off no popping home every few weeks). When he was due to go they told him the had no one to replace him so he would have to stay another year. Guy was heartbroken but said if he went home they wouldn't pay him what he was owed. Loads of other stories like that. The Qataris would say its not our doing its the agency but the could have put a stop to it in a second but just turned a blind eye.

I worked offshore Saudi Arabia for a little while. The catering crew were all from Nepal and had to stay on their allocated rigs for two years straight! They went onshore one a year for a medical. Absolutely brutal. The Saudis hated them along with the Filipinos and Indians.

The Filipinos and Nepalese were wonderful people even when dealing with rubbish conditions.

 

[Redwurzel]

I am shocked by the scale of deaths in Qatar. I suppose like Saudi Arabia we are told not to talk about because it risks losing business for Britain.

 

[Nero]

I am shocked by the scale of deaths in Qatar. I suppose like Saudi Arabia we are told not to talk about because it risks losing business for Britain.

Exactly. The Saudis buy way too much arms from Britain for the government to say anything.

 

[free_pint]

Abhorrent it was ever awarded to Qatar; however it looks like a country which is trying to ban protest, increase it's nuclear warheads and has been criticised by the UN for it's systematic policies on poverty is about to hold the majority of the Euro's...