It is important to understand that journalism is a self-serving ecosystem that only works to get views, TRP, and spread propaganda. The most recent example of this trend is the deaths of migrant workers in Qatar. Nobody bothered to ask any questions as the migrant workers were being killed off one by one. A handful of news organisations even bothered to report the story. However, at this moment, when everyone is focused on the latest developments from the FIFA World Cup, and the entirety of the world is keeping a close check on all FIFA news, every media company is reporting on the deaths of migrant workers. But is it worth reporting now ? LestacIndia’s sole question is why migrant worker deaths in Qatar are getting limelight now. No one asked when many could have been saved.
Also, read – FIFA World Cup A Masterstroke By Qatar
Why migrant worker deaths in Qatar is getting limelight now, no one asked when many could have been saved
When we look back at history, we discover that Qatar was the place where the exploitation of workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and from other countries around the world began more than a decade ago.In order for Qatar to host activities during the FIFA World Cup, the country needed to rapidly build up its infrastructure. It was impossible to meet the labor requirements for a country with a population of less than 3.8 million people. Qatar took advantage of the low-cost labor available from a select group of Asian and African nations. They only had focus on infrastructure development, labour work balance or environment was never of importance for authorities.
Consequently, this resulted in the deaths of migrant labourers who were engaged in a variety of projects. According to reports, officials were not concerned about the workers’ safety, not even in the face of deaths.Even after they had passed away, the bodies were not returned to their homes, and the families were forced to pay approximately $6,500 USD in order to have the body returned to them.
This inhumane behaviour on the part of Qatari authorities was revealed by a limited number of media organisations and groups but, at the time, it did not receive exclusive attention, which may have prevented the loss of many lives.
Reason why every media house is coming up with migrant worker deaths in Qatar story
The irony is that the media of countries of migrant workers were also sleeping when these were dying. Now the this media has started collecting data of photos of dead labourers. This is because they know, their articles will get read by a mass group now, they know their TRP might get increased this reporting. If they would have reported this data at the moment, these workers were dying, very few people would have got interest in the story.
Data of the migrant worker deaths in Qatar reported by media
| Nationalities of Died workers in Qatar | No. of Died workers |
|---|---|
| Indian migrant workers died in Qatar | 2711 |
| Nepali migrant workers died in Qatar | 1641 |
| Bangladeshi migrant workers died in Qatar | 1018 |
| Pakistani migrant workers died in Qatar | 824 |
| Sri Lankan migrant workers died in Qatar | 557 |
Summary of the Story
- Why migrant worker deaths in Qatar is getting limelight now, no one asked when many could have been saved.
- In order for Qatar to host activities during the FIFA World Cup, the country needed to rapidly build up its infrastructure.
- According to reports, officials were not concerned about the workers’ safety, not even in the face of deaths.
- Even after migrant workers passed away, the bodies were not returned to their homes, and the families were forced to pay approximately $6,500 USD in order to have the body returned to them.
- This inhumane behaviour on the part of Qatari authorities was revealed by a limited number of media organisations and groups but, at the time, it did not receive exclusive attention, which may have prevented the loss of many lives.
