Qatar will be the host of the 2022 World Cup, and has underway what may total $100 billion in construction projects.
But the tiny emirate has a tiny native population, and 90 percent of those living there are foreigners. It is foreign laborers who will build all these new roads, stadiums, hotels, and the like, and it now emerges that they live and work in misery. The Guardian of London now reports a story titled "Revealed: Qatar's World Cup 'Slaves.'"
The Guardian says this about working conditions:
The ambassador of Nepal, from which about 100,000 workers have gone to Qatar, called the emirate an "open jail" due to its disrespect for the rights of foreign workers.
The official Qatari response to The Guardian simply says that Qatari law protects everyone. On the issue of the young Nepalese men dying of heart attacks while laboring in Qatar its reply is chilly:
Now this is an interesting story, and FIFA, the international body ruling the World Cup, will have to pay it some attention, as will the International Labor Organization.
But will Al-Jazeera? Al-Jazeera is owned by the emir of Qatar, and never has covered Qatari matters fairly -- if at all. A story embarrassing to the country, and to the emir, is almost certain to be ignored -- especially in the main Al-Jazeera broadcasting in Arabic. Now there is a new station, a chic and sleek Al-Jazeera America (built on the carcass of Al Gore's failed TV network). Al-Jazeera America has new names and bright colors, and claims to be unbiased, and free, and not just a cat's paw for the emir.
OK, this is a test. Can Al-Jazeera and Al-Jazeera America can cover this story fairly-
As they say in Arabic, vamos a ver. But as they say in English, don't hold your breath.
