Aqeel: Qatar is like an "open prison" for migrant workers ... and the international community must pressure to end these tragic conditions

Al-Banna: The sponsorship system - even if the name has changed - is still continuing and entrenched in the actual reality in Qatar

Foundation denounces , Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights With the increase in violence against migrant workers in Qatar, in light of the recent demonstrations that they carried out on Saturday 3 August, and before that, on April 22, which resulted in the smashing of a number of buses and cars belonging to the companies they work for; They protested against the miserable conditions and delayed financial dues, as well as the harsh conditions in which they live, and forcing them to work under the scorching rays of the sun, which may reach 50 degrees Celsius in the summer. However, the Qatari security forces met the protesters with force and violence, and exposed many of them to injuries. Extreme.

The Foundation is very concerned about the violence that the Qatari government is pursuing to suppress the protesters, and a complete disregard for the voices of workers calling for their rights stolen from them in a system closer to forced labor, which constitutes a violation of all international conventions and agreements.

 Ayman Aqil, head of Maat Foundation, commented on this matter, saying: “Qatar has become like an“ open prison, ”and it has become necessary for the international community to pressure the Qatari authorities to end the tragic conditions in which migrant workers live in Qatar. Aqeel stressed the necessity of paying financial dues to these workers, the need for the International Labor Organization to conduct periodic inspections of workplaces, the importance of informing the world about what is happening to these workers in terms of grave violations of their right, and revealing the realistic facts about what migrant workers are experiencing from the miserable conditions in the State of Qatar.

        For his part, Muhammad al-Banna, a researcher specializing in Gulf affairs at the corporation, commented, saying: “The sponsorship system has not been radically abolished, and if the name has changed, its work is still continuing and firmly established in the actual reality in Qatar.” He stressed the need to allow all foreign workers to change their jobs without permission. The employer, abolishing the charge of “absconding”, extending the cancellation of the “exit permit” to include all workers, and the necessity of setting a sufficient minimum wage for all workers, and stressed the importance of paying financial dues to workers whose human and material rights were robbed by Qatar, whose payment was delayed for nearly six months.

It is worth noting that foreign workers in Qatar live in overcrowded camps in the middle of the desert that are not suitable for human housing, and the number of deaths among foreign workers, which are related to the construction of World Cup facilities only, has reached nearly 1,800 people, and the number is expected to increase by 7,000 workers by the time. The start of the 2022 World Cup.