Qatar certainly doesn't want it known that they treat these workers like slaves.
Qatar arrests reporters investigating migrant worker conditions, again
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By Adam Taylor May 18 at 11:51 AM
A traditional dhow floats in the Corniche Bay area in Doha, Qatar, with the financial district in the background. (Saurabh Das/AP)
Migrant workers are an undeniably integral feature of Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup preparation. However, reporting on these migrant workers and the conditions in which they live is not an easy task, as one team from the BBC recently found out.
According to journalist Mark Lobel, the Qatari prime minister's office had invited the BBC to the oil-rich Persian Gulf state this month to report on the new "cities" being built to accommodate the migrant workers. These new developments will hold a quarter-million migrant workers and appear to be designed keeping in mind the international community's criticism of many migrant workers' living conditions: The largest of the developments, dubbed "Labor City," will have a mall and a cricket stadium, for example.
Things didn't pan out as planned, however. According to Lobel's account, the BBC team was suddenly surrounded by eight white cars while on its way to do some reporting. The team members had their equipment and hard drives confiscated and were interrogated, Lobel says. "This is not Disneyland," he says one interrogator told him.
They were released after two nights but were unable to leave the country until some time later. The BBC says its equipment is still confiscated. In a statement, the Qatari government said the BBC team was detained because it had ignored the prearranged tour and trespassed on private property, "which is against the law in Qatar just as it is in most countries."
On Twitter, Lobel has pushed back against this explanation.
This isn't the first time that journalists have been detained while trying to report on the plight of migrant workers in Qatar. Recently, a team from West German Broadcasting was arrested while trying to report on the living conditions for migrant workers. The journalists were detained for 14 hours and prevented from leaving the country for some time after their release.
"What is FIFA saying to this?" Florian Bauer, one of the German journalists arrested, asked on Twitter after his release.
Continue reading at:
Qatar arrests reporters investigating migrant worker conditions again - The Washington Post
Qatar arrests reporters investigating migrant worker conditions, again
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Comments 4
By Adam Taylor May 18 at 11:51 AM
A traditional dhow floats in the Corniche Bay area in Doha, Qatar, with the financial district in the background. (Saurabh Das/AP)
Migrant workers are an undeniably integral feature of Qatar's 2022 FIFA World Cup preparation. However, reporting on these migrant workers and the conditions in which they live is not an easy task, as one team from the BBC recently found out.
According to journalist Mark Lobel, the Qatari prime minister's office had invited the BBC to the oil-rich Persian Gulf state this month to report on the new "cities" being built to accommodate the migrant workers. These new developments will hold a quarter-million migrant workers and appear to be designed keeping in mind the international community's criticism of many migrant workers' living conditions: The largest of the developments, dubbed "Labor City," will have a mall and a cricket stadium, for example.
Things didn't pan out as planned, however. According to Lobel's account, the BBC team was suddenly surrounded by eight white cars while on its way to do some reporting. The team members had their equipment and hard drives confiscated and were interrogated, Lobel says. "This is not Disneyland," he says one interrogator told him.
They were released after two nights but were unable to leave the country until some time later. The BBC says its equipment is still confiscated. In a statement, the Qatari government said the BBC team was detained because it had ignored the prearranged tour and trespassed on private property, "which is against the law in Qatar just as it is in most countries."
On Twitter, Lobel has pushed back against this explanation.
This isn't the first time that journalists have been detained while trying to report on the plight of migrant workers in Qatar. Recently, a team from West German Broadcasting was arrested while trying to report on the living conditions for migrant workers. The journalists were detained for 14 hours and prevented from leaving the country for some time after their release.
"What is FIFA saying to this?" Florian Bauer, one of the German journalists arrested, asked on Twitter after his release.
Continue reading at:
Qatar arrests reporters investigating migrant worker conditions again - The Washington Post
