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

Mohammed Suman Miah

1986—2020
Years
of
Age
34
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Mohammed Suman Miah

1986—2020
Mohammed Suman Miah from Bangladesh died in Qatar on April 29, 2020 at the age of 34. The death certificate from the authorities states that he died of heart failure as a result of natural causes, but nothing about what these causes are. The family had borrowed $ 7,000 for the visa. Eventually, he got a job at a construction site. The temperature when he died was about 38 degrees Celsius in the shade. Suman's colleagues told his family that he died towards the end of the shift from a heart attack and that he was taken to the hospital but that his life could not be saved.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Ghal Singh Rai

1999—2019
Years
of
Age
20
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Ghal Singh Rai

1999—2019
Ghal Singh Rai worked as a cleaner in one of the camps where those who built Qatar's football stadiums lived. His family had paid $ 1,300 to a recruiting firm to get the job. But after just one week, he took his own life in October 2019. His colleagues in Qatar said he had hung himself from the ceiling fan. - There is a wound in his neck, but we have never received any further explanations. We have to believe what they tell us, says his father Saarki Bahadur Rai. The father often told the son not to worry. - I always told him to come home if he cannot live in Qatar. I told him that over and over again.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Monir Hossain

1988—2020
Years
of
Age
32
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Monir Hossain

1988—2020
Monir Hossain died on April 16, 2020 in Qatar due to an electric shock. He had worked for three years for a company as a painter. The 28-year-old widow Fatima Begum says that she has now moved in with her dead husband's parents. - I am worried how I can afford to pay for my children's education, she says. The entire family in the Cumilla district of southeastern Bangladesh is now having a difficult time. - The official explanation is that it was an “accident” but they do not have any further details. The family now gets help from the neighbors to cope with the daily expenses.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Manjur Kha Pathan

1981—2021
Years
of
Age
40
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Manjur Kha Pathan

1981—2021
Manjur Kha Pathan from Nepal died in Qatar on February 9, 2021, at the age of 40 years. His death certificate issued states that the heart disease was “unspecified” and it does not provide information about the underlying causes. His brother Ahmed Hussain told Amnesty International that Manjur worked as a truck driver and that he was healthy. They often talked about his job, and he complained about long working days, the heat and that the air conditioning in the truck was often broken. But he never complained about his health. Because he died at home and not at work, the case is not covered by the compensation laws in Qatar.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
India
In memory of

Rada Chinna Ramoji

1980—2021
Years
of
Age
41
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
India
In memory of

Rada Chinna Ramoji

1980—2021
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.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Durga Kumari Bhandari

1987—2020
Years
of
Age
33
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Durga Kumari Bhandari

1987—2020
Narayan Prasad Parajuli and Durga Kumari Bhandari worked in Qatar. Married for 15 years. - Our life was good. Until one day my wife suddenly got a lightning headache, remembers Narayan Prasad Parajuli. At the hospital, the doctors assessed that she had a brain tumor. The treatment started immediately but she died after eight months. - I still have not told Nayan that his mother is dead. He still thinks she's in the hospital and he still texts her. Personally, I don’t think I will ever be happy again, says Narayan Prasad Parajuli.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com

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