More than 6000 migrant workers have died due to Qatar’s World Cup constructions

By I. Doherty 

​Since Qatar gained the right to host the World Cup ten years ago, more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have dies there.
 
The data, which was obtained from official sources, show that since the night in December 2010 when the streets of Doha were swarmed with cheers from the crowd celebrating Qatar’s triumph an average of 12 migrant workers from these five south Asian countries have died each week.
 
According to data from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, there were 5, 927 migrant worker fatalities between 2011 and 2020. Additional 824 deaths of Pakistan workers were reported between 2010 and 2020 according to data from Pakistan’s embassy in Qatar.
 
Since this data does not account for the deaths from several nations, including Philippines and Kenya, which sent a considerable number of workers to Qatar, the overall death toll is significantly greater.  Additionally, excluded deaths that took place within the final months of 2020 also has not been considered.
 
In the last ten years, Qatar has stated an extraordinary development spree, mostly in anticipation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Numerous significant projects including a new airport, roads, public transportation systems, hotels and a new city which will be hosting the World Cup final have either been finished or are currently under progress in addition to the seven new stadiums.
 
Nick McGeehan, a director at FairSquare Projects, an advocacy organization specializing in labor rights in the Gulf, notes that even though death records are not broken down by occupation or place of employment, it is likely that many of the workers who have passes away were employed on these World Cup infrastructures. He said that a substantial number of these dead migrant workers since 2011 had only come to the nation after Qatar was awarded the opportunity to host the World Cup.
 
. Many heartbreaking stories of families who have lost their primary provider, are batting for recompense and are unsure of the circumstances behind their loved ones passing can be found behind these numerous statistics.