"The inhuman suffering of the guest workers in Qatar," 26 Mar 2014

The FIFA World Cup is to take place in Qatar in 2022. According to increased reports over the past few months construction workers are treated like slaves, there were even deaths. Who is to blame? Our reporter Tim Röhn has been looking for answers in Doha and Kathmandu. And has found out that probably also German companies are involved...

The third paper, [Nepali worker Nijmal] says,  is an employment contract. But it is not. It is an agreement between Sampada Overseas and the Qatari labour recruitment office Qatar & Middle East Trading & Contracting about the delivery of workers to the emirate. It is written how much simple Nepalese workers should earn. A man named Nijmal is not mentioned therein. However, apparently he was told this is a contract. They let him sign it. Now on a useless document in English language there is written “NIJMAL”...

“I have 400 agents throughout Nepal who recruit workers”, says Peshai Rai, director of Sampada Overseas with a broad grin on his face. He is sitting in his plain office on the second floor and is tapping the buttons of his smartphone. Rai makes no secret of the fact that not the companies are paying his services but the people sent abroad. The amount is to be paid immediately, precisely even before departure. 10,000 Nepalese rupee, Rai says, he doesn’t  demand more for each recruitment. That would be about 75 euros. There are workers that arrive in Doha having receipts with them that prove: They have paid much more. Like Nijmal...

The German-Egyptian is standing in the dust of his building site, pressing his lips together. He is the manager of the Qatari construction company Al-Sraiya, which is building a luxury hotel with 18 floors in Lusail City. For the worker from Bangladesh the construction site turned into a death trap...

There are no deaths in Lusail City. That’s what the Dorsch Group, which claims to be the biggest independent German planning group, explains to the general public. They deny that people have lost their lifes in Lusail City. The Offenbach-based company which employs 1800 people and operates in 40 countries is responsible for site supervision in Lusail City.