Qatar's World Cup 2022 dilemma: To be or not to be

From the moment the Oil rich country of Qatar was handed the World Cup for the year 2022, there were murmurs of corruption and bribery. All these murmurs are now turning into full blown screams and voices of conspiracy and bribery. With all parties already resorting to the “save your own skin tactics”, there is serious talk of Qatar now being boycotted as the WC2022 venue.

Unnecessarily even Russia was dragged into the controversy and the veracity of their bid is being questioned as well. Such has been the fiasco of the corruption revelations that the Russian State Duma Deputy Igor Ananskikh, had to issue a statement in order to quell queries about the relocation of WC2018, which was as follows: “All the talk that Russia could lose its host status for World Cup 2018 is completely unfounded."

The Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko even went on to defend Blatter and expressed his surprise at Blatter’s resignation.

Leaving aside Russia for the time being, the issue on hand is that of Qatar 2022, and the controversies surrounding it. Among all the upheavals and corruption charges, let us not forget that there have been a distressing number of deaths of migrant workers/labourers from countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh, which may be a further serious reason to shift WC2022 elsewhere.

As Marian Hyde, pointed out very recently, Fifa’s stance on Qatar’s violation of human rights has been nothing sort of shocking to say the least. From the onset, questions have been raised over the suitability of the State to host the FIFA World Cup, 2022. Eyebrows were raised when Qatar were awarded the WC. Immediately questions were raised as to the suitability of temperatures (rising to almost 54 degrees Celsius).

While that was resolved by the highly and obviously innovative idea of air-conditioned stadiums, which would make the world marvel, the recent issues that have cropped up are not that easy to solve. Managing the heat is one thing, managing mortality rates is a different ball game altogether. To be true to oneself, nothing about Qatar has been straight forward.

Further negativity has been enhanced by the recent occurrence of BBC’s crew being detained which in turn has exposed Qatar to further criticism. In light of these incidents, Marina Hyde of the Guardian fame has written a brilliant piece which raises some thought provoking questions.

She quotes the figure 62. Now for those readers, who want to know what this number signifies. It is the number of workers who will lay down their lives for each game that will be played during the Qatar 2022 World Cup. This inexcusable statistic in itself reels the mind.

To add insult to injury, the appalling official statement released by Qatar was mind numbing as well. The statement goes something like this, “The government communications office invited a dozen reporters to see – first-hand – some substandard labour accommodation as well as some of the newer labour villages.” Marina Hyde rightly dissects the usage of the word substandard as she puts forth her views, in her article.

Now, I understand Bill Shankly, once said, “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that”. This was in reference to the game and to motivate his players to perform better, Qatar’s football officials and the persons involved in the bid of the World Cup instead seem to have taken this quote to their heart. The current fatality rates at least points in that direction.

While addressing the above concerns, we look to approach the issue of migrant labourers and try to reach a conclusion that may be suitable to all parties concerned. After all if the world acknowledges football as the beautiful game, then it is one of the moral responsibilities to not just protect the shareholders of the game but the stakeholders as well.

As of now some of the issues that have cropped up in the last month, have taken the sheen off this game. Primarily the administrators involved have been shown in poor light. As established by the recent turn of events, the allegations and charges of money laundering, racketeering and bribery are already rife. The surprising thing is these issues are just skimming the surface of what seems to be a bottomless pit of corruption and mismanagement of funds.

Minimum Wages for Migrant Workers

Much has already been said and written about the issue of migrant workers losing their lives. The exploitation of cheap labour from countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and India is running amok as has been time and again highlighted by the media. Exploitation of such persons from the issuance of work papers to inhumane conditions of living in a foreign state have already been brought to light.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has called Qatar the state “A country without conscience” and there has been criticism of the “kafala” system as well. Christopher Ingraham of the Washington Post has outlined the number of migrant workers death which as of May 27 put at the number 964 as established by the Qatar government.

One of the proposals which can be implemented is the minimum wage for migrant workers coming to Qatar. As has been recently noted, Qatar has unveiled plans for labour reforms on May 14 in response to a review of a labor legislation by a British-based law firm, whose one of the recommendations is that of minimum wage for each category of construction worker.

The recommendations though are being criticised because of the red tape that’s involved and also due to lack of a definitive timeline for the implementation of such reforms. Seen as a step forward, but contradicted by drawbacks which dismiss the idea of the establishment of a union, the migrant worker still may not get the entitled benefits associated with such labor reforms.

For at the end of the day, the migrant worker is alien to his surroundings and the linguistic difficulties may force the worker in question to accept his current state, rather than better it.

Communication Channels

A win-win situation would be instead to offer translators and at least make the worker aware of what he is getting into. Communication will be more key than ever. The excuse of non-availability of resources doesn’t hold water, for Qatar is the richest country in the world blessed with abundant natural resources which the country possesses in the form of liquefied natural gas and other oil fields. Basically, the economic implementation of such a measure won’t be a hindrance to implementation.

Now in hindsight it seems, these measures could have been implemented much ahead of the World Cup bid as well. Sharon Burrow, the ITUC General Secretary, has vehemently criticised Qatar and believes that the country bullied its way in matters of labour reforms.

The point mainly being the promotion of modern day slavery which has been furthered by denying exit visas and confiscation of passports of the employees by the employers (construction companies), thus furthering the practice of the “kafala” system.

Being the richest country in the World, Qatar should instead use their economic muscle to set benchmarks in labour safety standards, thus setting an example for others to follow. Instead WC2022 should be viewed as a platform to exhibit their nation and champion the cause of labor reforms.

Publicity – Turning it Around

This in turn brings me to my final point that is publicity. The recent spate of events has highlighted the deficiencies present in the system. But publicity of any nature does bring a certain sense of allure about the country and makes one notice it. Qatar has the opportunity to change the viewpoint of the world.

In an era where information is available 24X7, Qatar can instead swiftly implement the labor reforms, improve the migrant workers’ status and carry on with their vision of Qatar 2022. Et Voila!!! all the negative imagery can immediately be turned around thus promoting the efficiency of the state.

The recent murmurings of the WC2022 venue being shifted is something that shouldn’t be entertained at all. Greg Dyke, Chairman of the English FA has recently aired his views on how England could step in as replacement hosts. The reasoning for such an idea of replacement hosts being not entertained is purely economical. It is understood that Qatar may have erred in their bidding process but to take a World Cup out of their hands at this juncture would endanger a lot of jobs.

The societal aspect of relocation of venues shouldn’t be overlooked. Countries which are known as developed nations have the tag for a reason. Their ability to balance issues of governance along with the societal effect of their policies is reasoned in nature. Society and economy should go hand in hand, not at the cost of each other.

The trickledown effect in the event of relocation would be felt most by the migrant worker. The migrant workers who have sacrificed and faced hardships to reach Qatar for the jobs in question would be left jobless and wouldn’t have means to go back to their state as well. The aim after all is to make them secure rather than pushing them in a vortex of insecurities. As a state Qatar’s dilemma is not of a nature that is irrevocable in nature.

"To be, or not to be" the opening phrase of a soliloquy in the "Nunnery Scene" of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, where Prince Hamlet contemplates death and suicide, captures the current situation of Qatar. Instead of bemoaning, like Hamlet, Qatar has the opportunity to write a new chapter by implementing changes which can be admired by all. The unfairness of life aside acknowledging that the alternative might be still worse, is something Qatar should turn into their strength.

A World Cup which can bring change to society will spread more happiness and make audiences more guilt free when they sit down to enjoy the spectacle, is something all will cherish and rejoice. As a state Qatar can be the harbinger of change.