Some 500 migrant workers died on Qatar World Cup projects
While the world’s soccer fans rave at the spectacles that thrill them at the newly developed facilities that provide platform for the global football competition in the desert city of Qatar, some 500 families remain in deep pains mourning the death of family members who died working to fix the event.
The Oracle Today reports authentic agency sources quoting the fatal casualties in the construction and other activities in preparation for the Qatar 2022 World Cup to be as high as 500.
The death, according to our sources, occurred among mainly migrant workers who were deployed under unsafe conditions in the projects.
According to the official responsible for organizing the event, the death toll of migrant workers who prepared Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup is between 400 and 500. But other sources insist that the official figure captured only reported cases, noting that some contractors concealed fatal cases.
Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for delivery and legacy, estimated the “honest and realistic total” of migrant workers who died on World Cup-related projects is at least 400.
“The estimate is around 400,” he told Morgan. “Between 400 and 500. I don’t have the precise number, that is something that is being discussed.”
Morgan responded, “That is a lot of people,” to which al-Thawadi agreed.
“One death is a death too many,” he said. “Every year, I think the health and safety standards on the sites are improving. At least on our sites; the World Cup sites that we’re responsible for.”
The secretary general said representatives of the trade unions have commended the improvements made to working conditions on the World Cup projects.
The Supreme Committee previously reported 40 migrant worker deaths, including three that were work related since 2014.
In 2021, the Guardian reported 6,500 migrant workers died since Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup on Dec. 2, 2010. Those workers came from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
The Guardian story also suggests an even higher death total because the deaths of workers from other countries such as Kenya and the Philippines were not included.
The comments from al-Thawadi come after several international bodies have applied pressure to Qatar and Fifa over the awarding and execution of the World Cup.
The European Union condemned both for the mistreatment and poor working conditions, as well as human rights violations by the host country. It approved a resolution to order both parties to compensate migrant workers and continue with worker’s rights reform.
In October, Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization, reported Qatari security forces were detaining LGBT residents without reason and subjecting them to poor treatment and outright abuse.
“Qatari authorities need to end impunity for violence against LGBT people,” the organization said in its report.
The 2022 Fifa World Cup will continue until the championship on Dec.18.
