The Unspoken Consequences of the World Cup

-
Summer is coming, while some will be on the beach enjoying the sun, for many, there is an upcoming event that can't be missed for the world, the World Cup of Soccer. However, although it will be an event to highlight the skills of individuals as well as teamwork to compete between nations, there is an unspoken consequence of such event.
FIFA, or the Federation Internationale de Football Association, has "awarded" the honor of hosting the soccer matches to Qatar, in 2010 (Conn, 2017). This off course, means for the inhabitants of Qatar that it must be able to provide a place for the matches to be held in, which means stadiums to be built. Unfortunately, Qatar is far from the summer vacation on the beach, Qatar's temperature are not sustainable to workers, where temperature can reach to 102 degree Fahrenheit, or more in a given work day(Conn, 2017). With those temperature, added with the heat generated from manual labor outdoors often under direct sunlight, the Human Rights Watch set out warning as the body temperature reaches beyond 102, creating health risks (Qatar, 2017). This is apparent in a construction worker who died, Jaleshwar Prasad at 48, who suffered cardiac arrest, were found that the prior day before his death, the temperature peaked at 102 Fahrenheit (Conn, 2017). 
As seen, the sport adored by millions cast a dark shadow that should be known to more individuals in power to create a positive change that will save lives. It has been estimated that 1200 workers have already died since FIFA has granted to World Cup to be held at Qatar in 2010. Yet the International Trades Union Confederation predicts that there will be at least 4000 workers fatalities until the first soccer match will be kicked off in 2022 World Cup (Foster, 2017). 
As 2022 comes closer, it is up to the government of Qatar to impose work regulation to put a stop to the death of workers working on their land. As it had tried to by imposing a prohibition to work outdoor from 11:30 AM to 3 PM, however, many states that this is not sufficient (Conn, 2017). Therefore, more must to done to protect the lives of people. Moreover, many urges FIFA, the organization set to organize the event to intervene and set clear guidelines to defend basic human rights and as well as human beings. 

Below are links relating to articles that goes into details of the tragedies occurring, as well as link to file a complaint directly to FIFA to let them know of their silence on this matter. 



Conn, D. (2017, September 26). Thousands of Qatar World Cup workers 'subjected to life-threatening heat'. Retrieved February 05, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/sep/27/thousands-qatar-world-cup-workers-life-threatening-heat

FIFA Complaints: http://www.fifa.com/contact-FIFA.html

Foster, A. (2017, September 29). Growing death toll in the lead up to the 2022 World Cup. Retrieved February 05, 2018, from http://www.news.com.au/world/asia/death-toll-rises-in-the-lead-up-to-the-2022-world-cup/news-story/43896b31023dd6ab6ed213637fe4d3e7

Qatar: Take Urgent Action to Protect Construction Workers. (2017, September 27). Retrieved February 05, 2018, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/09/27/qatar-take-urgent-action-protect-construction-workers



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community

-
Image
  Domestic Violence within the Homeless Community Source: Unsplash The Facts                                                                                          According to  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 233,832 are people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the United States. Of the 233,832, 50,767 are families with children.  Currently, 30% of homeless people are adult women.  (portlandoregon.gov)   Bradley Angle , which works to support survivors of  domestic violence , reported that 70% of domestic violence reports are from homeless women. ( www.kgw.com)  Homeless women are 1/3 of the fastest growing populations HUD homeless populations. ( portlandoregon.gov)   Specifically, in Por...
Read more

Understanding Homelessness

-
Image
  Source (American Addiction Centers)      Homelessness has a myriad of different reasons it can happen. The similarity between all scenarios in which a person is experiencing homelessness is that each person is human. A popular belief is that homelessness is a choice. People believe there is a set amount of circumstances that cause homelessness and that it is a choice not to fight to get out of those problems. The problems can range from mental health issues to drug addiction. There is no one size fits all, and it is not a choice.  Over the last few weeks, I have learned that there are many factors that can lead to homelessness. One big one that focuses on our class is how affordable housing, or the lack thereof, is a significant contributor to people not getting back on their feet. If you want to learn more about that subject and if affordable housing can help, click here.   This lack of affordable housing is a big roadblock for those trying to ove...
Read more

Air pollution caused by wildfires may increase risk of dementia

-
Image
  There are already more than 57 million dementia sufferers in the world, and by 2050, that figure is predicted to rise to 153 million. It is estimated that risk factors like exposure to air pollution account for up to 40% of these instances. Even when annual exposure was lower than the current EPA annual threshold of 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air (g/m3), the researchers discovered continuous evidence of a relationship between PM2.5 and dementia. The researchers discovered a 17% increase in risk for dementia for every 2 g/m3 increase in average yearly exposure to PM2.5, specifically among the studies using active case ascertainment. Despite the fact that the data was more sparse, they also discovered evidence supporting links between dementia and nitrogen oxide (5% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in yearly exposure) and nitrogen dioxide (2% increase in risk for every 10 g/m3 increase in annual exposure). According to a recent University of Michigan study, wildfi...
Read more