LOGIN DASHBOARD

    The Wire

    Photo Essays

    3 MIN READ

    Ten photos that reveal the pain of migrant workers

    Pete Pattisson, September 5, 2016, Kathmandu

    Ten photos that reveal the pain of migrant workers

      Share this article

    Who cares?

    Lila Acharya left Nepal for a job in Lebanon in 2010. Two months later her body was flown home to Kathmandu's airport in a coffin, where her distraught relatives came to collect it.
    Padam Shrestha was severely burned in an explosion at a petrol station in Doha where he worked. He said he had received no compensation.
    Ganesh BK died in Qatar, just weeks after he left his home in Dang. "I don't know how I am going to pay back the loan we took out to pay for my son's job. It is on my mind the whole time. I know the lender won't spare me,” said Ganesh’s father, Tilak Bahadur BK. "I don't ever want to hear the name of Qatar again."

     

    Ganesh BK arrived in a coffin. On average, about 3 to 4 coffins carrying the bodies of migrant workers arrive each day.

     

    Dalli Khatri and her husband Lil Man, hold photos of their sons, both of whom died while working as migrants in Malaysia and Qatar. Their younger son (foreground photo) died in Qatar from a heart attack, aged 20.
    Dalli Khatri and her husband Lil Man, hold photos of their sons, both of whom died while working as migrants in Malaysia and Qatar. Their younger son (foreground photo) died in Qatar from a heart attack, aged 20].

     

    Gyanu Reshmi Magar, photographed in Kathmandu, was trafficked to Syria to work as a domestic maid. She thought she was going to Dubai, but ended up in Syria after an agent assured her it was just like America. She eventially managed to escape after finding help via Facebook.

     

    Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatar’s labor force has increased by nearly 33 percent between 2011 and 2015, almost entirely due to the arrival of migrant workers. There are 1.6 million migrant workers in the country, comprising 94 percent of Qatar’s workforce.

     

    The condition of migrant workers’ accommodation has attracted much criticism in Qatar. While some new camps have now been built, the majority of workers still live in poor quality accommodation.

     

    Migrants often work a long way from their labor camps, and the travel to and from the camps can add hours to their working day.

     

    Much of the criticism of Qatar’s treatment of migrant worker deaths has focused on the number of laborers dying in the emirate.

     

    author bio photo

    Pete Pattisson  Pete Pattisson is a journalist specializing in documenting issues of social justice and human rights, in particular labor rights and modern forms of slavery. He contributes to The Guardian newspaper. In 2013 his reports on the treatment of Nepali migrant workers in Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, brought international attention to the issue. He has won a number of journalism awards, including the Amnesty Media Award, Anti-Slavery Media Award, and a Webby Award.


    Comments

    Get the best of

    the Record

    Previous Next

    YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

    COVID19

    Features

    7 min read

    Exploited abroad, unemployed at home

    Ishita Shahi - March 22, 2021

    Women migrant workers fled abusive conditions to come home, but with no jobs and no savings, many of them are preparing to leave again.

    Features

    5 min read

    Lessons we don’t learn from history

    The Record - December 15, 2020

    Determined to crush Maoist rebels instead of seeking a political solution, Oli is repeating the same mistakes Deuba made in the 90s which resulted in a decade-long people’s war

    COVID19

    News

    3 min read

    Covid19 Roundup, 20 April: Dirty Politics amid crisis & more

    Record Nepal - April 20, 2020

    A daily summary of Covid19 related developments that matter

    Perspectives

    8 min read

    From Darchula to Dharchula, every day for work

    Jag Bahadur Budha - March 31, 2022

    Hundreds of Nepalis cross the Mahakali border every day looking for work in India's Dharchula. There are no jobs in Nepal, they say.

    Features

    5 min read

    MPs pressured into returning their Dashain allowances

    The Record - October 19, 2020

    The earlier decision to provide festival perks to lawmakers—even as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the general populace—has been widely panned

    Features

    6 min read

    Exploitation, pay cuts and layoffs: the fate of journalists

    The Record - June 25, 2020

    The pandemic has exacerbated already fraught relations between journalists and their employers

    Interviews

    6 min read

    Mass quarantine systems have broken down

    Mallika Aryal - May 31, 2020

    Public health expert Sushil Koirala discusses concerns around Nepal’s plans for mass quarantining migrants

    The Wire

    19 min read

    Why Kathmandu’s land prices continue to skyrocket

    Rudra Pangeni - June 18, 2020

    Nepal’s moneyed classes, aided by unscrupulous banks and an irresponsible government, have turned land into a quickly tradeable commodity

    • About
    • Contributors
    • Jobs
    • Contact

    CONNECT WITH US

    © Copyright the Record | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy