The World Cup in Qatar
is almost over, marking the end of
a 12-year-long nationwide construction project. Hundreds of thousands
of migrant workers converged to help transform
this desert nation, working in difficult
and often dangerous jobs that are also essential
to their livelihood. So what happens to them now? We interviewed more than
three dozen Nepali workers and their families,
some who sent us footage from inside Qatar
at great personal risk. Their stories shed
light on a system that trapped many of them in debt. Those who left Qatar told us
they’re trying to go abroad again. And the workers who are still
there say they need to stay. In the villages of southern
Nepal, many men are absent. Outside of farming, there
are few opportunities to make a living. About a quarter of the
country’s annual income is now earned abroad, and
separation has become routine for many families. Rani’s husband has returned
home just three times in eight years. But he still calls
her every day. The family was in debt
when Rani’s husband left for Qatar. His father was sick, and there
were medical bills to pay. Her husband spoke
to us from Qatar and shared rare
videos of his life. We’re protecting his identity
because he fears retaliation. He says he rarely
takes days off, but the work has paid
off for his family. Ganga Bahadur Sunuwar
has worked abroad for much of his life in
Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and most recently
in Qatar, where he worked at a steel factory. But he got sick
and had to come home. Doctors say he developed
occupational asthma. He now works in Nepal
delivering water. It’s grueling work that’s only
made harder by his medical condition. Ganga Bahadur said he
requested medical leave seven times before he was
allowed to return home because the staffing agency
who hired him illegally held his passport. To work abroad,
first you have to pay recruitment
fees, which are illegal but routine in Nepal. It can cost workers $1,500
to get a job in Qatar. This can mean going
deeper into debt before actually
making any money. Like many workers, Kumar
fears that speaking out may hurt his future
job prospects. We agreed to use a family
name and hide his face. To get a job in Qatar and
cover family expenses, he borrowed money
from a local lender that charged him
36 percent interest. He hoped to earn enough
money to pay it back. But earlier this year,
the company Kumar worked for abruptly stopped
paying thousands of workers. He and his fellow workers
staged a rare protest, blocking the road. Kumar says he and
dozens of others spent more than a
week in jail, and then police escorted them
to their labor camp. The government paid
some back wages and sent them to
their home countries. A Qatari official told us that
the workers left voluntarily, but Kumar says they
didn’t have a choice. At the airport in Kathmandu,
more than 2,000 workers leave every day
for jobs abroad. But for all the
departures, the arrivals are a reminder of the
dangers they may face. These are the remains
of two Nepali workers who died in a
construction accident in Qatar two months ago. Airport officials say three
to four bodies arrive here on average each day, mostly
from the Gulf and Malaysia. Despite the risks
and the sacrifices, most of the workers who spoke
to us say they felt forced to continue, trapped
between poverty and debt and the difficult or dangerous
jobs they just can’t afford to lose.
