Will life get better for Qatar’s migrant workers now the World Cup is over?

For nearly 12 years now, the preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has shone a spotlight on the use and abuse of migrant workers in the global economy today. Hundreds of thousands of workers went into debt paying recruiters for a job placement; many were never paid what they were promised; and thousands returned only after they had died. Now the spectacle is nearly done. The pain, so well reported on, is nearly over.

So, for those migrant workers who survived, a question: where to next?

Anywhere but home

Outside his hut in Nepal's southern plains, Ramesh is splitting bamboo to make a basket for use around the home. Since he returned from Qatar, where he helped build a bus depot, he's been doing chores like this – household work for which he isn't paid.

“My job in Qatar was not easy. It was way harder than bamboo weaving. But at least I was earning some money there,” the 27-year-old said. “I had hoped to repay the loans and start saving money for the future. But that didn't happen.”

In Qatar, his monthly salary had been 1000 riyals ($275). He described this as “minimal” for such grueling work, but said that earning “something” there was better than having “nothing” in his impoverished hometown. Now he's back, sent home after less than a year on the job, and in debt. Like many migrant workers, Ramesh had taken out loans to cover the cost of recruitment. He had paid 155,000 rupees ($1170) at a 36% annual interest rate to get to Qatar, he said. With the money he'd earned while there, he'd be able to repay only 120,000 rupees.

He believes the only way to clear the debt is to find another job overseas.

Nepal is full of returned migrant workers, who, like Ramesh, now find themselves in situations even more desperate than when they left. According to Nepal's Ministry of Labor, over 116,000 Nepali migrant workers returned from Qatar in the first ten months of 2022. More come every month. The number of workers going to Qatar, meanwhile, has dropped by nearly 45% in the same period.

In truth it's a misnomer to say that migrant workers have ‘returned'. Qatar may no longer be the destination of choice, but they won't be staying long. “Some of my friends have already gone abroad,” Ramesh said. “I'm also trying to go. All we want is work and pay. We poor people can't stay home being jobless.”

The price of work

Southeast Nepal, where Ramesh lives, sends more migrant workers abroad than any other part of the country. Apart from some agricultural work, which is irregular and low-paid, there simply aren't many jobs locally that pay enough to live.

Those are found overseas, but they come with a price. There is almost no chance of getting a visa without paying hefty fees to recruiters. And with no resources of their own, poor workers have little choice but to borrow money and hope that foreign employment pays off in the long run.

One Nepali worker now in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, said that he had paid 300,000 rupees ($2270) to get there after he was deported from Qatar. He thought a carpentry job in Malaysia would serve him better than subsistence farming at home. “Work abroad is the only option to make a living in my village,” he said. “Many youths like me are looking for overseas jobs. It could be Malaysia, or Qatar, or anywhere in Gulf.”