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

The Bangladeshi migrant worker Mohammad Kaochar Khan was fond dead in his bed on November 15, 2017 at the age of 34. In his death certificate as well as the certificate from the Bangladesh embassy in Qatar it says that his cause of death was “acute respiratory failure due to natural cause”. “His plan for migrating to Qatar was to collect a good amount of money so that he could educate his son and build a mansion”, says his younger brother Didarul Islam Khan who works for the government.

Two years ago, Bishnu Bahadur Bayalkoti traveled to Qatar to work as a driver. – He died while driving at work, says the widow, Maya Bayalkoti. Four other Nepalese guest workers died in the same car accident. The money he earned meant that the children could study and one daughter was married off. Now the family feels helpless. – He died at work, so I was hopeful that they would support the family of a person who gave his life for the company, but they have not yet paid. We are in shock and mourning. We're poor and I'm illiterate. What should we do? I do not know, says the widow.

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.

In May 2020, Delowar Hossaini's body returned to the capital Dhaka. When he suffered a stroke, he was taken to a hospital, but his life could not be saved. The family says it was his second stroke since he started working on the irrigated farm. - After the first one, he traveled home for a while to recharge, says the widow Nasrin Akhter. The family received compensation from the company and the government in Bangladesh. With that money, the family became debt free. As soon as her two sons, who are now in high school, have graduated, they both plan to travel to Qatar.

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.

Sujan often told his family about the severe heat in Qatar. He also complained that he did not manage to get any good jobs.  “Sometimes he worked in a construction site in Doha and would get $219 monthly.  Sometime he would remain out of work”. Sujan did not have the time or the money to visit his home after going to Qatar. During his three year long period abroad, he did not come back home a single time. The family had plans for marrying him off soon after he returned home from Qatar. But he died abroad.