associations denounce 6,500 deaths in ten years on construction sites

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Last blow of pickaxe around the stadium of Losail, the biggest of this 2022 World Cup. A colossal copper bowl like the one that we tends to guests in Gulf culture, with dates inside. “It was entirely devoted to that. the Qatar kept its promises. The sound, the atmosphere, it’s going to be something unimaginable “, rejoices Tamim El Abed, who oversaw the construction of this 80,000-seat arena.

In one year, the FIFA World Cup will open in Qatar, the wealthiest emirate in the Persian Gulf, with the second largest gas reserves in the world. More than a million supporters are expected in this country smaller than Corsica, for the first World Cup organized in a country in the Middle East. A World Cup that Qatar has offered itself thanks to the billions of dollars in gas revenues and the networks of influence that it has forged around the world. Thanks also to the cheap labor that he brought from poor countries to build the infrastructure: airport, metro, hotels, skyscrapers and of course brand new stadiums.

An air-conditioned stadium will host the final. Up to 7,000 workers took part in this project. Their faces are on the walls of certain entrances. “It’s the Wall of Gratitude, with thousands of photos of those who built it. The best response to criticism is to make sure everyone who comes here to work returns home healthy. “, adds the engineer.

Because there are criticisms. 6,500 deaths in ten years, classified as “natural death” by Qatar, which is disputed by human rights organizations, which demand investigations. Lola schulmann, by Amnesty International, underlines: “Today we do not have a reliable census, from the Qatari authorities, which allows us to establish which deaths are directly linked to working conditions. And families do not receive any compensation.”

Qatar rejects these accusations, emphasizes the changes in recent years. Safety of construction sites, but also minimum wage and abolition of sponsorship which prohibits changing employers or leaving the country freely. This is true on paper, but not in practice for too many companies still, according to Amnesty International.

A few kilometers away on the Doha corniche, the time is not for controversy for the stars of the round ball who came Sunday, November 21 in the evening to start the countdown to the World Cup: David Beckham, Cafu, Marcel Desailly or even Samuel Eto’o.

“Football for footballers, politics for politicians.”

Samuel Eto’o

to franceinfo

The boss of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, asserts that “Much can still be done, but progress has been made here in a few years, while it takes decades in other countries. And these changes are encouraged.”, he explains.

The question of human rights has not finished weighing on this 2022 World Cup. Like the suspicions of corruption that surrounded its attribution.

On the construction sites of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar – Report by Aurélien Colly

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