One year ago, things were looking up for Shakir Ullah Khan. The World Cup in Qatar was about to kick off, and Khan had travelled from Pakistan to Qatar and had found a prestigious job as a security guard at the tournament. “I was happy to join a big organisation like Fifa,” says Khan. But it did not last. “Once we started work … all my hopes turned to mud.”
Sweeping labour reforms put in place after the international community condemned the deaths and exploitation of migrant workers building Qatar’s World cup dream were supposed to be the lasting legacy of the tournament. Instead, one year on, migrant workers in Qatar say that life is no better for those left behind.
