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Why you should care that Qatar got the World Cup.

12/16/2010

8 Comments

 
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Qatar has been awarded the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And whether or not you care about soccer, you should care about this.

Anyone even know where Qatar is?

Somewhere between 1952 and the Middle Ages.

FIFA chose to have the World Cup in Qatar over Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the United States. The country won by an overwhelming vote of 14 - 8. So did homophobia, but that is not all.

Basic human rights lost.

Lives lost.

The tiny Arab country, in the Middle East is home to about 1.6 million people and rapidly growing. Its citizens enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. Sort of…

Of Qatar’s population, a modest (and unrevealed) chunk is comprised of Qatari nationals. They live life well. For the most part however, it is expatriates who make up the rich nation and help make the nation rich.

There has been some commotion over FIFA choosing the emirate country, but not for the right(s) reasons.
PictureSepp Blatter, President of FIFA
Sepp Blatter is head of the world soccer governing body. And his recent comments got media types and radio talk show hosts in a dither. Blatter said that gay fans "should refrain from any sexual activities" during the tournament in Qatar, where homosexual behaviour is illegal.

You see, it’s not so bad in Qatar. Homosexuality isn’t illegal. Just homosexual behaviour is.

Reading isn’t illegal. Just words are.

Juris Lavrikovs, of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, said the comments were "very unfortunate and have left people deeply offended."

And because Blatter’s unfortunate comments have taken centre-stage here, they have thrown the entire situation off-balance.

The bottom line is that FIFA knowingly decided to endorse a country with a very open history of torture, cruelty, and forced slave labour.

Then there is the violence against Jews, women and homosexuals.

Women need permission from their husbands or guardians before travelling. While, children of Qatari women who marry foreign nationals do not qualify for Qatari citizenship, unlike children born to Qatari fathers and foreign mothers.


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Worse, the country does not act on the rampant violence against women, and discourages women from even reporting it.

The law in Qatar states that engaging in homosexual acts is punishable (only) by five years in prison, but US Homeland Security and United Nations reports show by execution.

Then there is the little country’s big human trafficking problem that possibly rivals vehicle traffic in Toronto.

All that trafficking needs fuel. And in a way, petroleum fuels it, for it is what makes Qatar’s economy one of the best in the world.

As the country’s wealth propels its growth at an astonishing rate, citizens from Asian, African, and Mid-East countries go to Qatar in search of labour or domestic work. Once they arrive, these expatriates face harsh and unfair working conditions, which they are coerced and even forced into accepting.

What can you do when your employer illegally retains your passport?

In 2005, under international pressure for mistreatment of labourers, Qatari workers finally earned the right to organize and collectively bargain – if there were a minimum of 100 Qatari nationals in a union. But, nationals do not partake in expatriate labour. There has never been a union in Qatar.

PictureAfter a long day, getting a good night's sleep.
So, who will renovate three of the 12 soccer stadiums included in Qatar’s World Cup proposal? And who will build the other nine promised venues?

Without any anti-human trafficking legislation or basic human rights standards, FIFA members can sleep easy at night, knowing it will get done.

And just think, in 2022, the World Cup won’t just draw die-hard soccer fans, but it will also draw killer sex-traffickers too! Talk about bang for the buck.

FIFA’s promise to the world, written on its Web site states:

The world is a place rich in natural beauty and cultural diversity, but also one where many are still deprived of their basic rights. FIFA now has an even greater responsibility to reach out and touch the world, using football as a symbol of hope and integration…

We believe it is FIFA´s responsibility to foster unity within the football world and to use football to promote solidarity, regardless of gender, ethnic background, faith or culture.

Seriously, lying so blatantly like that? What does FIFA think it is? The UN?

Of course, there are whisperings that Qatar bribed the organization, and pretty much bought the World Cup.

Well, it certainly wasn’t the soccer-friendly temperatures that reach 54 Celsius (130 Fahrenheit), or the political instability of the region that won the tournament for the rich nation.

PictureDo I need to type it out for you?
Still, whether or not FIFA was bribed, the fact remains it is knowingly and willfully condoning and promoting human rights violations and atrocities.

FIFA’s current partners include: Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai-Kia, Sony, Visa, and, lo and behold, Emirates airline.

If these businesses choose to continue supporting an organization that endorses hate, violence, and murder they should do it understanding that consumers also have choices.

Unlike the hundreds - and hundreds - of thousands of people victimized by Qatar.

8 Comments
Yash
12/16/2010 07:16:53 am

It is dangerous to sit behind a computer and pontificate about things you don’t appear to know very much about.

If you had spent even 15 minutes in Doha you would see that there actually is already an active gay community. Let's also not forget that not even three decades ago paramedics on our fine continent - I live in Toronto too - were refusing to treat gay patients under the misconception that they would get HIV. This misunderstanding of homosexuality is in many ways analogous to the stigma surrounding homosexuality in the Islamic. Not even 12 years after such incidents the USA hosted the ‘94 World cup. For shame FIFA! For shame… 2022 is 12 years away, this leaves enough time for significant social change in Qatar.

As for some of the other things you’ve said:
“violence against Jews” = TOTAL nonsense. I challenge you to substantiate this statement. On the surface it seems that you have painted the whole Arab world with one broad brush and assumed that they all have passionate hatred for Israel and extrapolated that in some way my rational mind cannot understand… If you had bothered to research in any meaningful level of detail you would have seen that Qatar out of all of the GCC states is the most (at worst second most) liberal and likely to forge relations with Israel. On multiple occasions - including twice in the last calendar year - Qatar has attempted to normalize relations with Israel on the condition that they be allowed to send humanitarian supplies to Gaza, only to be shot down by the Israelis.

I won’t even bother addressing your snipe at the UN because I feel I would be wasting my time.

Somehow falsely associating Emirates Airline with Qatar and its world cup bid are equally misinformed. Qatar’s own national carrier and Emirates are sworn enemies and Qatar will fight tooth, nail and checkbook to ensure Qatar Airways is the sponsor. Again if you had bothered to check facts you would see that Emirates’ arrangement with FIFA expires after the 2014 world cup.

Your disdain for the Arabs/Muslims is clear by just a glance of the other posts on your blog. This is surprising and a little disappointing given that you live in perhaps the most open-minded, multi-cultural city on earth.

Reply
Dahlia link
12/16/2010 10:46:34 am

Yash - I'm not going to argue the point with you. Your argument is full of holes and we will never agree.

I must point out that everything I wrote is well documented.

And my slight at the Emirates airline, should you have bothered to make the association with my link, was a slight at the United Arab Emirates, and its own human rights violations.

Finally, let me be clear, I have no fight with Arabs or Muslims. I only take issue with those who discriminate against and hate Jews and/or Israel and democracy.

Reply
Yash
12/16/2010 01:51:50 pm

You have my email address from my last submission. I invite you to point out any/all holes in my post and we can discuss.

You have pointed out that those that hate Jews/Israel and democracy are the target of your post. Yet you chose to focus on human rights (something Israel has a pretty sketchy record on) and flatly ignored the attempts Qatar has made to build a bridge.

As for the Emirates "link" to Qatar, should we Canadians have to deal with the fallout of the walkabout foreign policies of the US based on proximity and certain shared values? I hope not.

I'm not looking for a fight, but as a true moderate, in all senses of the word - who is neither Arab or Muslim - I feel that the type of message you are sending is both counterproductive and dangerous.

Reply
Fisher Oakes
12/17/2010 01:18:03 am

Great article Dahlia!

Sex trafficking really ramped up when the world cup was in South Africa. I watched a tv show about pimps getting ready to make a lot of money off of all the people that went there for the cup.

Reply
Sarah
12/17/2010 04:58:10 am

I suppose you would have preferred it if Israel had gotten the cup instead?

Reply
Launy
12/17/2010 07:37:48 am

I like how people have placed the onus on Dahlia to do further research etc...these actions are well documented. This isn't necessarily an attack on Muslims, but pointing out the obvious human rights violations Qatar has done nothing to resolve, and FIFA's transparent greed. No country is immune to mistakes - Israel included, but Qatar's are so flagrant and have been disregarded. If that doesn't bother you, regardless of your religious beliefs, than look in the mirror and apply for a position with FIFA. you'll fit right in.

Reply
Yash
12/21/2010 05:15:09 am

Not researching is one thing, making statements with no basis in fact is quite another. </last visit>

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