Thousands of migrant workers have died since Qatar was awarded to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Read their stories.

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Since Qatar was awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup, thousands of migrant workers have died. In search for answers, journalism platform Blankspot collected stories directly from their families. We then created Cards of Qatar – a catalogue of football cards that instead of facts about players tell the stories of the workers who never returned.

Read their stories and long form articles highlighting the reality of the situation for the migrant workers who built Qatar. Read more

THE CARDS


Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Bishal Rayhan

2000—2020
Years
of
Age
20
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Bishal Rayhan

2000—2020
In February 2020, the family picked up the body of their 20-year-old Bishal Rayhan's at the airport. The company did not say anything beside that he died in a car accident in Qatar's capital Doha on January 27, 2020. - He had only worked in Qatar for nine months when this happened, says his 47-year-old father Bipul Rayhan. After receiving the body, Bishal's mother has been paralyzed and the father is now trying to survive with his disabled wife and the two children in Bhairab in Kishorganj in central Bangladesh.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
India
In memory of

Bolumalla Gangadhar

1969—2019
Years
of
Age
50
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
India
In memory of

Bolumalla Gangadhar

1969—2019
One morning in October 2019, while Bolumalla Gangadhar was in a holiday in India, he screamed in agony in the bathroom. - It was a heart attack, but no one in our family has had heart problems before, says his son Kiran. Even though it has been a while now since the father died during the holiday at home in India, Kiran cannot let go of what happened. How could a completely healthy and fit man suddenly die from a heart attack? - He never said anything about his job. Not even what he did. He only repeated this mantra: "Do not come here. You do not know what it is like here, and you do not want to know it either”.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Amit Karki

1974—2021
Years
of
Age
47
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Amit Karki

1974—2021
It has been over two decades since Khina Bista's husband, Amit Karki, first traveled to Qatar. – Quite honestly, we have not seen him much since we got married 12 years ago. I raised our two children here at home but they never got to know their father and now he is dead, says Khina Bista. After a day of work, he complained of pain and was driven to the hospital by his colleagues. – He was dead when they arrived. We were told that it was a heart attack, says Khina Bista. The family has received 700,000 nepalese rupees from the authorities and another 1.4 million rupees from the life insurance.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Mosharaf Hossen

1980—2018
Years
of
Age
38
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Mosharaf Hossen

1980—2018
Mosharaf Hossen decided to migrate to Qatar to fulfill his dream of lifting his family out of poverty. For five years he worked as a mason at different construction sites but newer got payed on a regular basis. “The sudden and untimely death put us, a five-member family in dire hardship and debt bondage,” says Mosharaf’s widow Josna Begum. Her husband died on August 8, 2018 at the age of 38. The official cause of death was “cardiac chock” according to his death certificate.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Mijanur Rahman

1985—2019
Years
of
Age
34
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Mijanur Rahman

1985—2019
Mijanuar Rahman had been working in Qatar as private driver for eight years and recently changed employer. The widow Mosa Arifa Laizu says that her husband was in good health while he was in Bangladesh and that there where no record of heart disease while he lived in his home country. – It it hard for us to believe that MIjan died of heart attack in Qatar, she said.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Anish Gurung

2000—2021
Years
of
Age
21
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Anish Gurung

2000—2021
When Jagan Gurung's son Anish Gurung turned 18 he went abroad. – I told him to get married and build a life here at home, but he refused, says father Jagan Gurung. The family paid a recruiter and he started as a construction worker in Qatar. – He was sitting in the front seat next to the driver when they collided. The father says that it feels as if the son will call him on the mobile phone at any time and that he therefore keeps it charged and within reach. – I'm just waiting for him to call and say… Aama, Babaa. Although he died on the way to the workplace, the company has not paid any compensation yet.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com

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