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

Subodha Mishra made his first trip to Qatar at the age of 18. From then until his death in 2013, he spent only a few months in his home village of Bhramarpura. - He first went there because the family needed to eat, then to be able to build a house, then to be able to pay for our education, says his nephew Arun Kumar Mishra. The details of the death are unclear. Grief is mixed with unanswered questions. - The company says that it was an accident, that a truck backed into him. But we are not sure, says Manda Devi Mishra.

On May 15, 2020, migrant Shohag Madbar died at his room at the age of 30. The death certificate from the Qatari government mentiones the cause of death as a “heart attack”. Due to the uncertain job situation and the irregular wage, Shohag lived with a constant tension. The family believes the pressure caused a “mental shock”. When asked, Shohag’s uncle Md Kamal Uddin said that the family had been struggling since his death. – Shohag’s father who is a farmer his mother and their two daughters lost all dreams when they sent their only young breadearner to Qatar.

The father of two and the carpenter Prabhu was found hanged in the room where he slept with his colleagues. Ten days later, a coffin with the body came home to the family. - He often told me that he was tired of everything. He had worked in Qatar for several years and every month there was a fight over the salary, says the 23-year-old wife. During one of the conversations just days before he was found dead, Sucharitha remembers that her husband said enough is enough. And he wanted to go home. - The company he worked for did not even offer condolences or paid any compensation, Sucharitha says.

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”.

Throughout the past year, Rada Chinna Ramoji often told his wife Rada Sujatha that they were missing people because of Covid-19. - In January, there was a shortage of manpower and he started working 12-hour shifts, sometimes as much as 16-hours. He was always awake, says Mrs. Rada Sujatha. He often talked to his wife about how hard his job as a cleaner was. He talked about the lack of sleep, and how bad it hurts to have to get up for so long - but he was healthy. Sometime between January 24 and 25, Ramoji died. - I was told that he died of a heart attack in his sleep in the morning, says the widow Rada Sujatha.

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma traveled to Qatar 20 years ago and worked until his death at a construction company. During all his years in Qatar, he always encouraged his children to study hard and try to get a job in Nepal. - He forbade the children to travel abroad and work, says the widow Nir Maya BK. When the pandemic struck, he became frightened. - His co-workers told me that they think he took his life because he was afraid of dying a painful death. We are now all like orphans. The whole family, says Nir Maya BK.