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Debate on Gulf Migrant Workers Misses the Point

Media reports on the Arab Gulf states concerning migrant workers often fail to frame the bigger picture.
Labourers work near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, in Dubai May 9, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTXZFXJ

In a recent investigation by The Guardian detailing the abuse and exploitation of migrant workers in Qatar, the newspaper reported that dozens of Nepalese migrant laborers have died in recent weeks, tying the deaths construction work-related to Qatar's bid to host the 2022 World Cup.

This is not the first media report on the inhumane working and living conditions of these migrant workers. In January, The Guardian quoted a then-upcoming Human Rights Watch report describing the 2022 World Cup as "a crucible of exploitation and misery."

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