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

Zohorul Islam

1997–2020
Years
of
Age
23
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Zohorul Islam

1997–2020
Zohorul’s death in Qatar couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The family was even before his death passing through economic hardship.  They had borrowed money from a local NGO, moneylenders and relatives to send Zohorul to Qatar to work as a cleaner. Rina Akter, elder sister, and Sharmin Akter, younger sister, of Zohorul claimed that their only brother did not have any previous health complications or diseases in Bangladesh.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma

1968—2020
Years
of
Age
52
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Bine Bahadur Bishworkarma

1968—2020
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.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Abul Hashem

1974—2019
Years
of
Age
45
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Abul Hashem

1974—2019
The Bangladeshi migrant worker Abul Hashem died in Qatar due to “acute cardio respiratory failure” at a construction site neary Doha.  On the day of his death, he was working at a construction site in Al Rayyan in Doha and according to the family he was setting tiles. The other coworkers immediately called an ambulance which took Hashem to the hospital where he was declared dead. Abul Kalam Azad, the son of deceased migrant says that his father had no previous history of heart problems.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Kubir Singh BK

1970—2020
Years
of
Age
50
World
Cup
Qatar
22
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Nepal
In memory of

Kubir Singh BK

1970—2020
19 years ago, Sita Kumari's husband Kubir Singh BK traveled to Qatar to secure the future of their two daughters and son. Now he would soon go back home forever. During his last talk with the family, he said that he was done with Qatar. - But it was too late. He was wrapped in a box, says the widow Sita Kumari. According to the family, the company that Kubir Singh BK gave 19 years of his life did not ensure that he received the necessary care when he became so sick that he died. - They forced him to work even when he was sick. Now we are without support, and we worry about the future.
— told to the journalistic platform Blankspot
FULL STORY
cardsofqatar.com
Migrant worker
Bangladesh
In memory of

Sujan Miah

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

Sujan Miah

1988—2020
Sujan Miah from Bangladesh was 32 years old when he died in Qatar on September 24, 2020. The official death certificate states that he died of natural causes. But Sujan's brother tells Amnesty International that he was completely healthy when he left. In Qatar, he worked laying pipes in the desert. All his work was done outdoors in the heat and during the four days preceding his death it was 40 degrees in the shade. Sujan's siblings describe the loss as “inconceivable” to Amnesty staff who met the family in Bangladesh.
— 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

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