Between the three dead from the official Qatar accounts and the 6,500 advanced by The Guardian newspaper, no one knows for sure how many workers died building this World Cup. Human Rights Watch does not know the figures either, but demands compensation to the relatives of those who died, seriously injured or who did not receive what was promised during the work of the event.
The non-governmental organization spoke with relatives of victims in Nepal, one of the many Asian countries that provided the most essential manpower for the test. As in much of the world, in this country the imagination of children transforms any field into a luxurious soccer stadium. This is how Hari appears in a video, from behind, watching his son practice his dream of becoming a professional player.
Hari is the fake name of this World Cup builder. A profession that has grown like mushrooms for 12 years in the Lusail region of Doha.
“There was nothing there. Now it is everywhere. When it was hot we worked with our faces covered and we sweated so much that the sweat soaked our shoes. My son did not recognize me when I came back,” recalls Hari.
This man’s son is a fan of the Portuguese team. He hardly knows him today, but 14 years later he has got his father back.
Nanda Kali’s husband never returned. Now that she has been left alone with old age and widowhood, this woman seems to give up, but she does not settle.
“My husband was a driver, he came home every two years. The last time four years passed, but only his body arrived. He said he would work there as long as he could pay our loans, he was my livelihood. Who will help me now? Who do I owe? show him these tears?” asks Nanda Kali.
Like Kshitz Sigdel, founder of a soccer fan club in Kathmandu. He is tired of counting coffins.
“Every day I go to the airport to pass products through customs. Many times coffins arrive with the bodies of Nepali workers, it is very sad. The question is not whether they should pay or not, they have to pay”, defends Kshitz Sigdel.
In Qatar, the law considers that there is no right to compensation for death unless the cause is suspected and an autopsy is carried out. Officially, everyone who lost their life building this world cup died of natural causes.
The country’s authorities have created a salary compensation fund to support exploited workers, but it was not until 2020 that FIFA, the highest international soccer authority that handed over the organization of the World Cup in Qatar, admitted to doing so. However, to this day, it has never agreed to compensate the victims of the works in the country.
Source: TSF
