As reported by Reuters, thousands of foreign workers have been expelled from their homes in Qatar ahead of the World Cup.
Qatari authorities have reportedly emptied apartment blocks housing scores of workers that are situated in the same areas that fans will be visiting for the tournament next month in the capital city of Doha. The outlet report that more than a dozen buildings have been evacuated by authorities, forcing foreign workers, mainly African and Asian, to find shelter where they could at short notice.
Many were forced to sleep on the streets. Those living in one building were given just two hours to leave at 8pm on Wednesday before officers returned at 10.30pm that evening to force those concerned out and lock the doors behind them, some were even unable to collect their belongings. A driver from Bangladesh told Reuters he’d lived in the same neighbourhood for 14 years before being given 48 hours to leave this week with no prior notice.
A Qatari government official said the evictions were unrelated to the World Cup and were instead designed “in line with ongoing comprehensive and long-term plans to re-organise areas of Doha. All have since been rehoused in safe and appropriate accommodation” and that evictions had “been conducted with proper notice.”
FIFA did not respond when asked for comment by the outlet amid long running controversy over the treatment of migrant workers in the country, employed to build stadiums for the tournament.
GWFN
