Qatar a "21st century slave state" - trade union boss

Posted by: Nirsly Friday, 15 February 2013 1:01 PM[UAE] - UaE

One wonders if this trade union boss really cares about workers.

What about the rights of Palestinian workers who have to cross border police in their own homeland? End hours traveling to and from work? Slapped and beaten at checkpoints? And often arrested, or when they return home, it was bulldozed.

He forgot about that.

What about the African workers also in Israel who are treated with such extreme racism, their homes are broken into by white Israeli gangs when they are at work and are chased down the streets by gangs?

He forgot about that.

What about the Mexican grape pickets in America who work long hours under the sun and with no options for any healthcare, often they are children separated from their families, and American grape growers dealing with gangs that transport labour like sardines?

He forgot about that.

What about the millions of workers in India, China, Africa, and Europe, who are daily abused, often beaten and raped.

He forgot about that.

Posted by: SAM Thursday, 14 February 2013 1:03 PM[UAE] - UAE

I think that Qatari authorities should do a better job in clarifying the laws governing migrant workers conditions and it is the government's responsibility in the first place to ensure that the laws are not broken by contractors. A communist trade unionist is not in my opinion an authority on the issue. A more respectable body such as the U.N. should investigate the matter and issue recommendation. It is sad to hear that 191 workers out of a million plus suffered heart attacks in 2010 due to the heat, but how many died in 2011 and 2012 and can their deaths really by directly attributed to wrong-doings by contractors? I am not an expert on the matter, but the article seems to be one-sided.

Posted by: RBH Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:32 PM[UAE] - Lebanon

This is the situation in all of the Gulf, not just Qatar.

Posted by: Qatari Thursday, 14 February 2013 1:05 PM[UAE] - Qatar

That's not 100% true. You look at your country through a "bee" eye and at the GCC through a "fly" eye. That's called hatred, I hope you get well soon.

Posted by: RBH Wednesday, 13 February 2013 4:20 PM[UAE] - Lebanon

Well thr Gulf is worse.... dah! We don't make them live in industrial areas like you people do!!!

Posted by: Qatari Wednesday, 13 February 2013 1:54 PM[UAE] - Qatar

Lebanon too, I have seen it myself.

Posted by: Hisham Tuesday, 12 February 2013 9:55 AM[UAE] - UAE

It's not like the workers are worse off than in the places they come from. Have we all forgotten that the average people who do this work come from heavily polluted environments with greater health risks and deceases than anywhere else in the world? However bad it seems, they are getting paid more than in their home countries, and I would choose to build stadiums in Qatar over taking apart freight ships with asbestos, nuclear material and other health hazardous stuff somewhere in Calcutta any day, however heartless I may sound, it's the simple truth!

Posted by: RBH Wednesday, 13 February 2013 4:19 PM[UAE] - Lebanon

So realiste, just because they leave their home country they should be treated like animals as in the Gulf?!

Posted by: kingkaiser Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:33 PM[UAE] - UAE

X being better than Y doesn't necessarily make X acceptable. Let me stretch that argument to an extreme to show why it doesn't work. We would generally agree that dismemberment or disfigurement is a better alternative than death. However, I promise you that there would be serious ramifications if you were to find a child who was dying of malaria, cured him, and then spent the next 10 years mauling and dismembering him. I'm fairly sure we can agree that this scenario would not be acceptable; while you may have spared him from a worse fate, it still doesn't justify abuse of any sort.

As some have said "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Our problem in the region (and expats certainly do this as well) is that we seem not to view those of lower economic status as human at all. Thats a mindset that needs to change.

Posted by: Paolo C Tuesday, 12 February 2013 9:55 AM[UAE] - Italy

I don't understand why this guy is giving the fault to Qatar instead of accusing Fifa who don't care less about the workers of developing countries.