End slavery of Nepalese migrant workers in Qatar

NEW YORK - Oct. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- Various Nepalese organizations of New York have begun their campaign to raise awareness into the slavery of migrant workers in Qatar. Recent coverages in the Guardian, BBC, NPR, CNN, Huffington Post and other major news outlets have shed light on horrific human rights violiations and utter disregard of International Labor laws in the country of Qatar, while preparing for FIFA 2022 World Cup Soccer. There are already an estimated 1.2 million migrant workers in Qatar, mostly builders, and the country is expected to ship at least 500,000 more in preparation for 2022. Those arriving from poverty struck, temperate Nepal and other countries in the Indian sub-continent into the heat of Qatari desert are dying at astounding rates.

The Guardian stated that during the period from early June until early August, an average of more than one Nepalese migrant worker died per day. At this rate, International Labor Organization (ILO) warns that more than 4,000 migrant workers could die between now and the start of the World Cup in 2022 unless drastic measures are taken to provide better living and working conditions. Even among perfectly healthy young men, mostly within their 20s-30s, heart attacks are a major cause of death along with accidents at the construction sites. Workers had been often denied access to drinking water in extreme heat, had not been paid in months, beaten on a daily basis and had their passports confiscated to prevent them from leaving the country- in effect enslaving them.

The chain of modern day slavery and exploitation leads from the labor recruiters in Nepal's poorest villages, where men are promised jobs and salaries to help support their families left back home, to the governments of Nepal and Qatar, as well as to the officials of soccer's governing body, the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA). The overriding image is of one of the wealthiest of the world's nations taking advantage of one of the most poverty stricken people in order to get ready for the world's most popular sporting tournament.

The links below provide specific names of officials in government, United Nations, and sports' governing organizations where petitions, letters, and protests may be directed.

Petitioners may also contact editors of major newspapers to call attention to the human rights violations.

According to a spokesperson, "The petition which is to be directed to the Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, FIFA, Federico Addiechi, President of the United States, Barack Obama, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, Abassador of the Qatar Embassy to the USA, H.E. Mohamed Bin Abdulla Al-Rumaihi, the Prime Minister of Nepal, Khil Raj Regmi and the editor of the Washington Post, Martin Baron" among others, includes five major elements:

1. Migrant workers in Qatar are to be provided humane working condition.

2. Workers are to be allowed to leave their jobs.

3. Workers are to be paid a fair and livable wage.

4. Safe working conditions on construction sites are to be ensured.

5. Workers' paychecks may not be withheld.

6. Passports of migrant workers may not be confiscated to prevent them from leaving.

Learn more about the events leading up to the modern day slavery crisis among Nepalese migrant workers and how to support a petition to stop the atrocities by visiting the web pages at http://www.change.org/petitions/end-slavery-of-nepalese-m... (http://www.change.org/petitions/end-slavery-of-nepalese-m...).

Related information can be seen at
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/video/2013/sep/25/qatar-migrant-workers-world-cup-host-video

Call to Action: A Peaceful Protest is scheduled to be held in New York on Oct 10^th at 9am. The event will take place in front of the New York Times Building in 620 Eighth Avenue and then at the Qatar Consulate in 809 U.N Plaza to raise general public awareness and to condone these atrocious act of human exploitation and greed.  And to stand in solidarity with the Nepalese migrant workers in order to provide justice for those who have wrongfully died or have been enslaved in Qatar.  Please visit the site to get more details into the protest  https://www.facebook.com/events/162199140654869/

Members of the press and others who have further questions about the contents of this specific press release are encouraged to contact Karma Tenzing Nyangmi via the information provided below.

Contact Person name: Karma Tenzing Nyangmi

Contact Telephone Number:  +1-718-801-3069

Contact Email:  karma.tenzing@gmail.com