Qatari authorities have evicted hundreds of migrant workers from buildings in central Doha amid preparations for the FIFA World Cup, residents and workers said on Saturday.
City workers and officers arrived Wednesday evening to clean and close a dozen buildings, just over three weeks before the start of the sporting event, residents said.
Some supporters of the World Cup, organized from November 20 to December 18, must stay in this area, largely located in the Al-Mansoura district and redeveloped in recent years.
A government spokesperson said the buildings were “uninhabitable” and authorities acted under a 2010 law against “informal housing”.
Notice has been given to the occupants and “the authorities are still ensuring that people are relocated to a safe and appropriate place”, according to the same source.
Younes, a Bangladeshi driver met in the neighborhood on Saturday morning, three nights after being evicted from his accommodation, said he slept in the back of his pick-up in a nearby street.
“This truck is my life and I will not leave it until I have a place where I can park it nearby,” he explains.
This is the third time in three years that he has been forced to move, he also said.
Migrants represent more than 80% of Qatar’s 2.8 million inhabitants. They are mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal but also from the Philippines and African countries such as Kenya and Uganda.
The wealthy Gulf state has spent tens of billions of dollars to host the tournament but has come under fire from human rights groups and international trade unions, including for its treatment of foreign workers , who built most of the new stadiums and transport infrastructure for the event.
These organizations have denounced the working conditions of workers, unpaid wages and even deaths on construction sites, the number of which is uncertain to date.
The International Trade Union Confederation, bringing together trade union organizations from all over the world, has however noted clear improvements in recent years. Its secretary general Sharan Burrow recently hailed to AFP the “incredible progress” of Qatar in this area, while deeming it still insufficient.
Qatar says it has carried out many reforms and its leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, this week railed against “fabrications and double standards” in what he described as an “unprecedented campaign” of criticism since the country won the World Cup.
Dark and locked
The owner of a 24-hour shop in Al Mansoura, a native of South Asia who has witnessed some evictions, says most of those forced to leave did not pay rent and had no leases. “They are basically squatters,” he said on condition of anonymity. “They stay in one building for a few months and then have to find another”.
“They were good customers. I had brought extra rice because they were buying so much; now I have none,” he added.
“In this case, it is the moment so close to the World Cup that is all wrong,” he said.
All of the empty buildings seen by AFP were dark and there was no indication that they could be used soon.
Residents of the neighborhood estimated that most of the evicted men would move to the huge industrial area of Doha or to towns further from the capital.
Because they are not employed by large companies, which provide accommodation and food, many work for a daily wage or for small companies.
“They live in these blocks to avoid paying rent. Wages are low so every penny counts,” said a migrant living next to a building that has been emptied.