Luxury hotels and lavish stadiums, built by migrant workers under slave-like conditions, stand ready for use. Qatar, the small emirate in the Persian Gulf, next door to big Saudi Arabia, will be the first country in the Middle East to host the soccer World Cup.
But not to the admiration Qatar wanted – as an inspiring country with great cultural values. Instead, the world has turned its attention to slavery-like conditions and violations of human rights.
Around 30,000 migrants came to Qatar to build stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup.
Journalist Pete Pattisson has investigated the working conditions of migrant workers in Qatar. He tells Euronews that the situation for millions of migrant workers was already dire, with low wages, dangerous working conditions, confiscation of passports and a large number of uninvestigated deaths.
Something Qatar has waved away.
Future without oil
Qatar is a monarchy with an absolute concentration of power. The Emir exercises executive, legislative and judicial power. All political parties are banned.
Only about twelve percent of the country’s 2.6 million inhabitants are Qataris. The rest are migrants, mainly men from South Asia and East Africa, who work in the construction, security and service sectors.
Hosting the FIFA World Cup has been an important turning point for Qatar, which has lived well on oil and gas but has also realized that its assets will one day run out.
— Qatar is trying to present itself as a serious international player, says Rothna Begum, researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), to Euronews.
Liberal in comparison
Qatar has no specific dress code for visitors. Alcohol is permitted to a certain extent in exclusive bars and restaurants.
In the region, the country is considered relatively liberal compared to neighbors such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. At the same time, LGBTQI people are forced to live in hiding, and run the risk of being arbitrarily imprisoned.
The other day, British superstar Dua Lipa denied reports of an appearance at the World Cup opening ceremony. She also took the opportunity to criticize Qatar for lack of human rights.
According to Pete Pattisson, the strong criticism of Qatar has led to a PR battle, where the Qataris and the International Football Association (Fifa) claim that everything is fine now. An image many human rights organizations do not share.