Source: thetelegraph.co.uk |
As the World
Cup enters its fourth and final week, critics, organisations, and those
watching at home have commended Russia for their hosting skills, especially for
providing such beautiful grounds for the matches to occur. Yet very little is
said of how the stadiums were built – more specifically, who built them. What
many football fans are unaware of is that the stadiums built for this World Cup
probably would not exist without the thousands of migrant workers, particularly
those from one of the most oppressive and controlled countries, North Korea.
In the lead
up to the 2018 World Cup 9 stadiums across Russia were built or redeveloped to
join those existing and make up the 12 stadiums to host the 64 matches of the
World Cup.
The largest
venue, Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, stands at an 81,000 capacity and, having
hosted the opening game, will also go on to host the final.
Luzhniki
Stadium is just one in a long list of stadiums that have become the site of
many migrant worker deaths – deaths which have been overlooked and ignored,
simply due the fact that they are of migrants.
The process
begins in North Korea, a state infamous for the complete lack of social, economic,
and political freedom. Those lucky enough to escape and defect find it difficult
to land on their feet after having lived within such a blanketed community. The
lack of skills, education, awareness combines to create an individual incapable
of producing their own independent thoughts and opinions. This is the perfect
target for business gangs operating within the corruption of the government.
In other
cases, the DPRK may select certain individuals to go out to these sites and
work in order to bring back money to the country. This is as a result of the dramatic
and complete decline of hard currency within the DPRK following the collapse of
the Soviet Union and the economic barriers the Kim Dynasty have set up between
themselves and the rest of the world. This then becomes one of the very few
ways to bring money back into the country – money that will not benefit the
individual but instead be used to fuel the propaganda and maintenance that the
DPRK so heavily relies upon.
In the case
of the 2018 World Cup stadiums, migrant workers are sourced and employed from
third party groups, separate but not completely independent of FIFA. Deals are
made between the employer and the beneficiary (usually the DPRK government and
any connections in between). The workers are completely neglected from this process
and are simply told lies of what their salary will be and what they will be
able to do with it. Most workers are promised a salary large enough to support
themselves comfortably with enough to send back home to their families who may
remain in North Korea.
The reality
however, is very different. Flexible hours become daily 20-hour shifts, protective
clothing is now out of the question, and workers are considered lucky to even receive
10% of the original sum. Instead the money goes back to the third-party organisations
and the enters the corrupted cycle between Russian gangs and the DPRK to
facilitate the development of North Korea, including its nuclear development. What
is left of the workers’ salary is withheld from them, allowing bosses to choose
when and where they can spend, should they wish to grant them that opportunity.
What once seemed like an opportunity to better their lives essentially evolves
into a complete violation of human rights.
Those who
question or challenge what they have been subjected to are usually threatened
with the safety of their families back home or sent back to North Korea where they
and their family will suffer punishments as a result.
Despite a law
passed early in 2013 which aims to prevent World Cup employees to be abused in
such a way, tens of thousands of North Koreans still suffer the same fate, therefore
questioning both Russia’s and FIFA’s commitment to human rights issues. Though
these companies may be third party companies separate to FIFA, it seems unrealistic
that FIFA had been unaware of what was going on years before.
FIFA’s
response has remained the same. They will “continue to follow up any allegations
made with regards to human rights violations”. Yet the exact same thing is
happening in Qatar, only worse.
Source: namibian.com.na/Home |
Qatar will
host the 2022 World Cup and has already been subject to death tolls far greater
than Russia. FIFA continually promise to monitor the construction sites in Qatar
just as they had promised to do so in Russia but there are inevitable
shortcomings; assessment visits are planned and announced in advance, giving companies
the opportunity to hide anything that may indicate the violation of human rights,
and FIFA then go on to publish very little, if any, of their findings, offering
no indication if situations have improved.
Over the
years thousands of deaths have been reported by the Qatari government, the
deaths of workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and India. Almost all are
said to be from causes that officials have chosen not to explain or investigate
whilst others are simply dubbed as having occurred from natural causes which is
clearly not true.
The World
Cup isn’t going anywhere, the money it generates is far too great for this to
even be considered, but FIFA needs to take some responsibility for the rights
and safety of those who work to create the tournament. FIFA President Gianni
Infantino has since admitted to the severe abuses of human rights in regards to
the North Korean workers across Russia and many promises have been made to
prevent risks to employees, but words need to become actions.
FIFA needs to
be more transparent with their data. Their newly adopted human rights policy is
just the start. Their newest policy regarding the rights of journalists and human
rights defenders at the games is just as important. These progressions however,
have only occurred because of the pressure that the public put on FIFA. The
pressure needs to remain to ensure that the World Cup does not become a human
rights free zone.
Thank you for reading!
Aman
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