Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, May 09, 2025

Qatar World Cup migrant workers left mired in debt, Human Right Watch says

Qatar World Cup migrant workers left mired in debt, Human Right Watch says

Qatari firms accused of complicity as families of dead workers are left in penury
Migrant workers who helped build the infrastructure for Qatar to host the upcoming football World Cup have been left mired in debt because of the extortionate recruitment fees charged by agents, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.

Over the past 12 months, the nongovernmental organization interviewed dozens of migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Kenya and Nepal, including the families of seven who are now dead.

Many said they had been forced into debt bondage — a form of forced labor recognized under international law — and were unable to leave their jobs, making them more vulnerable to abuse. Others said they had used up all of their savings and even sold family assets to meet the repayments on the fees charged by their recruiters.

In some instances, the families of workers who died in Qatar said they had been left to deal with the aftermath.

Bulani Sahani, the father of a migrant worker from Nepal who died in Qatar earlier this year, said he was struggling to provide for his grandchildren because of the debts his son had incurred.

“My son went (to Qatar) after borrowing money (more than $1,100) from many villagers,” he said.

“Now everyone keeps asking for it. They say that I must have received compensation for my son’s death, but I haven’t received a single rupee. How will I repay them? I don’t even have land to sell to pay them.”

Several investigations, including ones conducted on behalf of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy — the body responsible for creating the infrastructure needed to host the Word Cup — have revealed the pervasiveness of recruitment fees that can take months, if not years, to repay.

The 10 people interviewed by Human Rights Watch who had paid off their debts said it took them between four months and two years.

While the problem of high recruitment fees lay partially with companies in the workers’ home countries, the report said that businesses based in Qatar were complicit as they had imposed costs on recruiters that they knew would be passed on to the workers.

Because of Qatari firms’ lack of oversight, some unscrupulous recruiters had been able to “double dip,” charging both employers and migrant workers, it said.

While Qatari authorities had earlier claimed that the problem of exorbitant recruitment fees fell outside their jurisdiction, Human Rights Watch accused them of failing to tackle the issue.

It said also that FIFA — football’s governing body — and Qatari authorities had yet to commit to establishing a compensation fund for serious abuses of migrant workers.

“With 30 days left until the tournament, there is a slim window for FIFA and Qatari authorities to correct course and commit to remedying past abuses that have stained the 2022 World Cup,” said Michael Page, HRW’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Unless FIFA and Qatar act, then the real ‘legacy’ of this tournament will be how FIFA, Qatar and anyone profiting from this World Cup left families of thousands of migrant workers indebted after they died and left many migrant workers who had their wages stolen uncompensated.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×