Qatar’s Migrant Worker Camps Hit Hardest by COVID-19

By: Nathan Matsko

Four migrant workers work on a dock in Qatar. Source

Bellefonte — The Qatari government has locked down an entire sector of its capital city, Doha, an area mostly inhabited by immigrant laborers. 

With the prestigious opportunity of hosting the World Cup in 2022, Qatar has undertaken a massive wave of construction projects — from a series of multi-million dollar stadiums to a variety of roads and a brand new airport. However, the oil-wealthy nation’s endeavors have been hindered by the outbreak of COVID-19. The virus has also provided a glimpse into some of the troubling methods of labor utilized by Qatari authorities.

The various projects lean heavily on migrant labor. Migrant workers make up nearly 88% of the country’s population, with a large percentage of them coming from Southeast Asia. 

The majority of Qatar’s foreign labor lives in the “Industrial Area” outside of Doha or in adjacent labor camps, which were created to house tens of thousands of workers. Living conditions in these camps are poor, the structures more akin to crowded dormitories than individual housing units. 

These cramped spaces have become an epicenter for COVID-19. 238 cases of the virus were confirmed in a single complex, with likely hundreds more still unconfirmed. This led the government to close off the entire Industrial Area and accompanying labor camps, barring entries and exits from the zone and confining many migrant workers into dangerous conditions. 

Two onlookers look toward the skyline of Doha. Source

Though Qatar is taking steps to ease the burden on these workers, such as promising migrant workers full compensation for lost pay, opening a grievance hotline for workers, and delivering daily shipments of much-needed food and supplies to the zone, many workers still feel like they have been abandoned. Some workers stuck inside the zone have been told that they will be placed on unpaid leave. 

A conglomerate of human rights organizations and worker unions have sent a joint letter to the Qatari government, encouraging them to make good on the promises they made to the thousands of migrant workers that are still unemployed.

Though the coronavirus is causing a complexity of issues, it isn’t the first time the Gulf nation has been scrutinized for the condition of its laborers. There were reports last year of several migrant worker deaths due to a number of issues such as heat stress. Many of the deaths went uninvestigated by Qatari officials. Efforts to protect workers from these conditions have been less than adequate. 

As the number of cases continue to increase in the Gulf nations and around the world, it falls on the governments of these countries to protect the individuals most vulnerable to the virus.