Nepalis in Qatar
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (200,000 (2014)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Doha | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic · English • Maithili · Nepali | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism · Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nepali people |
Nepalis in Qatar are migrants from Nepal to Qatar, mostly migrant workers and permanent residents, as well as their locally born descendants. As of 2011-2014 report by International Organization for Migration, 176,748 Nepali Citizens lived in Qatar as migrant workers. While there are Nepalese working in the business and administrative sectors of Qatar, most workers from Nepal fall under the umbrella of unskilled labor, and hold jobs in sectors such as construction and landscaping. Many workers from Nepal are hired to work on the construction of stadiums and railways that are being designed for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar. According to Time Magazine, due to the terrible working conditions in Qatar, a Nepali World Cup worker dies every other day.
Qatar is one of the favorite destinations for Nepali job aspirants who are mostly employed in construction works. All unqualified jobs are done by foreigners especially the Nepalis, who, nowadays, are the most sought after compared to Indians or other nationalities. About 9,650 Nepali nationals arrived in Qatar in December 2010. The Nepalese workers have a reputation of being hardworking, honest, cheap and not prone to complaining. According to the former Nepalese ambassador to Qatar, Surynath Mishra, "Nepali migrant workers have the lowest per capita income in Qatar." According to the ambassador, they lack of education and technical skills mean that "They get exploited the most out of all the migrant workers."
There has also been a steady increase in the number of Nepalese expatriates coming to Qatar to take up employment. There are currently about 100 executives from Nepal in Qatar. A growing number of employers in Qatar are showing more interest hiring engineers, accountants, hotel and travel professionals from Nepal.
A major concern among the Nepalese officials in Qatar is the rise of deaths of Nepalese workers. Nepalese migrants building the infrastructure to host the 2022 World Cup have died at a rate of one every two days in 2014. According to Nepalese Ambassador Suryanath Mishra, Two-third of the deaths are caused by stress because they are cheated by employment agencies and his embassy receives about 20 complaints each day from Nepalese victims of such fraud and that about 10 Nepalese return to their home country each day from Qatar because of such scams. The International Trade Union Confederation estimated that the worker death toll could hit 4,000 (nine deaths were associated with the last two World Cups, in Brazil and South Africa) before the 2022 World Cup begins. Nepalese workers in Qatar are forced to work 10- to 14-hour work days, often in extreme heat, with four hours of sleep, and live in cramped accommodations with poor sanitation. Many have gone into debt just to get to Qatar and frequently have to work overtime to make ends meet. Some make only one-third of the money that they’re initially promised.
...
Wikipedia