- Families want to know why migrant workers died.
- Qatar has transformed its infrastructure in the run up to the World Cup.
- Five million people from South Asia have been employed on building projects.
In preparation for the World Cup, which begins on Sunday, Qatar has made changes to its infrastructure. Five million people from South Asia, including those from Nepal, where families have informed that safety failings contributed to the deaths of their loved ones, have been hired on construction projects.
Qatar Airlines flight QR 644 landed at Nepal’s Kathmandu airport in the wee hours of November 10.
A sizable white wooden box was among the items taken from the plane. Written on the outside were the words “Human Remains of late Umesh Kumar Yadav, 32 years male, Nepali.”
His father ties up his buffalo outside of his brick home in Golbazar, 250 kilometres (155 miles) south-east of Kathmandu. He resides in one of the poorest regions in one of the world’s poorest countries, where opportunities are few.
When Laxman Yadav’s son Umesh was given the opportunity to move to and work in Qatar, one of the richest nations in the world, he sold some buffalo to pay $1,500 (£1,250) to an employment agent who promised to find a job for Umesh.
Agents frequently travel to underdeveloped regions, not just in Nepal but also in Bangladesh and India, where they attract young men with offers of lucrative jobs abroad in exchange for substantial quantities of money that will get them visas.
It is challenging for the families to know where and for whom their relatives are working because the workers are frequently transferred from contract to contract.
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Krishna Mandal’s residence is located in the Dhanusha district, a two-hour journey away. Four years ago, his father Sitesh moved to Qatar to work.
Krishna Mandal’s residence is located in the Dhanusha district, a two-hour journey away. Four years ago, his father Sitesh moved to Qatar to work.
Four years after relocating to Qatar, Sitesh texted his son selfies from the office.
While at work, Sitesh occasionally emailed his son selfies. Krishna adds, “He told me he worked on water tanks, but didn’t really explain us what he was doing.”
On October 12, Sitesh was scheduled to pay a visit once more. But a few days prior, Krishna received a call informing him that his father had perished in an accident.
According to a family acquaintance, Sitesh was injured when a large pile of earth fell on him while he was working on sewage pipes seven feet below ground in the Qatari capital Doha. According to his death certificate, he had “several blunt injuries from solid object hit.”
Krishna claims that neither a call from his father’s employer nor an offer of payment have been made to him. The company Sitesh worked for was contacted by the BBC for a response, but they declined.
Laxman, who is from Golbazar, didn’t have a smartphone and couldn’t keep up with the daily updates Umesh used to upload on TikTok, so he didn’t know much about his son’s life in Qatar.
He might be seen dancing in his movies either in front of Qatar’s flashy skyline or at his dorm-style lodging with other migrant workers.
Additionally, Umesh posted videos of himself working on construction sites, grinning while standing on a ladder or, in typical TikTok manner, moving massive concrete blocks as a challenge.
Umesh uploaded a video of himself dancing at night in front of some towers that were showing World Cup advertisements on October 26.
He would never post again after that.
On October 27, Umesh’s cousin, Laxman, who is also employed in Qatar, received a call informing him of his passing. To find out how, he went to the work site with others.
“They told us Umesh was taking the scaffold lift up, when it touched something and broke, and he fell down,” he said.
Laxman asserts that “they should have cared about workplace safety.” “They need to have double-checked everything before letting employees go to work.”
The construction company gave this statement
“The accident occurred as a result of his negligence and recklessness,” their statement said. “The worker who died was very careless on the site and was notified many times to abide by the safety conditions like the rest of his colleagues, but to no avail.”
Reports of the terrible working conditions and fatalities of migrant workers have surfaced since the World Cup construction in Qatar got underway.
Assuring “the health, safety, and dignity of all people employed on our projects,” according to the government of Qatar, is a priority.
Due in part to their concern for retaliation, they think the actual number may be greater.
Over a six-year span, more than a dozen death certificates for employees from South Asia have been seen. The cause of death is frequently listed as “many blunt traumas.” Families said they continue to seek explanations.
Laxman, Umesh’s father, and numerous other villagers prepared for his final rituals by gathering mounds of wood and hay to start the fire while the casket was being transported from the airport to Golbazar.
The oldest son traditionally lights the pyre in Nepal. Sushant, Umesh’s 13-month-old son, was being held by Laxman as he placed a stick in the infant’s small hand so that he could light the fire.
“He used to support us. We have loans to pay, and his young children to support,” Umesh’s mother Sumitra said, her face wet with tears. “He was my hero.”
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