Posted By LambChop
"We
were working on an empty stomach for 24 hours; 12 hours' work and then no food
all night. When I complained, my manager
assaulted me, kicked me out of the labor camp I lived in and refused to pay me
anything. I had to beg for food from other workers," said Ram Kumar Mahara, 27.
From The Guardian:
The Guardian conducted an investigation into the deaths of Nepalese workers who were contracted to provide infrastructure to prepare Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup game. A rash of deaths (about 1 per day over the summer) was revealed - at least 44 workers died between June 4th and August 8 th (2013) with more than half dying of heart attacks, heart failure or "workplace accidents."
- The investigation also reveals:
- Evidence of forced labour on a huge World Cup infrastructure project.
- Some Nepalese men have alleged that they have not been paid for months and have had their salaries retained to stop them running away.
- Some workers on other sites say employers routinely confiscate passports and refuse to issue ID cards, in effect reducing them to the status of illegal aliens.
- Some labourers say they have been denied access to free drinking water in the desert heat.
- About 30 Nepalese sought refuge at their embassy in Doha to escape the brutal conditions of their employment.
Bottom line – one of the richest nations on earth (Qatar) is employing slave labor to build infrastructure for a soccer game.
Frankly, this is just one more reason for Americans to hate soccer. NFL football does NOT use slave labor to build its stadiums.
In developed countries, sports typically require a coordinated use of arms AND legs – American football, Basketball, Baseball, Tennis, Golf, Cricket, Rugby, and Hockey. Soccer is a sport for toddlers and pre-pubescent girls and is less fun to play than its cousin, kickball.
In third world nations, soccer games are a reason to riot. When was the last time you remember a riot at a cricket game? In 2012 a riot at a soccer game in Egypt killed 73 people.
Soccer is for metrosexuals and children. Of course, the fact that soccer players all look like the lead singer of Maroon 5 Adam Levine or a fashion model on the cover of GQ does not help buoy sport’s machismo factor.
Soccer requires no equipment other than shoes and a ball. Perfect for third world countries who can only afford one ball.
Soccer proves that most of the fans don’t know how to tell time. The clock counts up instead of down.
In soccer, if a player gets a bruised shin the player stops, falls down, screams, rolls around and cries for 15 minutes. Contrast that tantrum display to the NFL Cardinal's player Rashad Johnson who removed his glove AFTER the game and discovered that his finger had broken off.
The fans wear …..scarves? How gay is that? What about the Miley Cyrus foam finger? The terrible towel?
Scoring. Nothing happens for hours. It is mind-numbingly boring. Nobody scores and it can end in a friggin tie. Why bother? Give everybody a participation trophy at the start of the match and skip the rest.
Soccer is a rejection of Western European values and American exceptionalism. In the State of Texas, where the Houston Dynamo soccer team has built a new stadium and achieved solid success, the Houston Latino fans actually rooted for Mexico and carried Mexican flags to games.
READ MORE: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves
Call me back when one of these wuss-boys goes the length of the field against an NFL defense. (See Hester, Devin)
Posted by: German Shepherd | 10/04/2013 at 11:03 AM