Dylan Bettencourt
The upcoming Qatar World Cup has become increasingly controversial since the country was announced as the hosts of the 2022 tournament.
It has been reported that over 6,000 migrant workers lost their lives while building eight brand new stadiums for the event.
Another embarrassing scandal involves security guards signing contracts binding them to their employers with conditions akin to slavery.
Workers have described working in Qatar as being hit with human rights violations that include sexual harrasment, discrimination, wage theft, health and safety risks and the sudden loss of employment.
Malawian Wanthaza Mughogho experienced it first hand.
The Mail & Guardian reported that when he resigned from his job at a hotel in order to join another company, he asked for a transfer visa for his new employer.
Instead he was told that his visa was cancelled and that he had 30 days to leave the country.
However Covid-19 came along and closed the airports, trapping Mughogho in Qatar.
But a pandemic did not stop his previous employer from opening a case against him for a “search and follow-up” immigration unit procedure.
Mughogho was not aware he had been reported and once the airports opened again, he booked the first ticket home to Malawi.
His joy at finally ending his Qatar nightmare quickly ended when he was arrested at the airport where he spent two nights in a detention centre.
In order to leave the centre he was forced to accept deportation and a five-year ban from the country.
Malawi’s Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule said she was heartbroken reading about Mughogho’s experience.
“The ideal situation for us is that we should have a bilateral agreement that is signed between ourselves and the countries where the people go to work,” the minister said.
Both Fifa and Qatar have continued to deny any allegations about the way they treat foreign employees. They claim they have “actively pushed for the implementation of broader labour reforms that apply to all companies and projects across the country and benefit all workers in Qatar”.
Image source: @Quartz
