Latha Bollapally, with her son Rajesh Goud, holds a picture of her husband, Madhu Bollapally, 43, a migrant worker who died in Qatar. Photograph: Kailash Nirmal
Go Canada, Go! A lot of Canadians will be cheering on the men's national soccer/football team as it participates in the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 36 years. I know that this isn't even close to the Stanley Cup drought for the Maple Leafs but this is a much more modest feat of qualifying for what is arguably the biggest sporting event on the planet and truly pan-national.
To say Canada is an underdog is an understatement. There is actually a betting line on whether the Canuck squad will score a single goal in the tournament, let alone win a game.
While we can be proud of this accomplishment for our athletes we might also feel somewhat queasy about the location for this extravaganza. It is being held in the tiny nation of Qatar, which is too small a country to host properly, and is too hot, but apparently had too much money for the selection comittee to walk away from granting them football's jewel. The tens of billions spent on creating the infrastructure and stadia is mind-boggling. Former football great David Beckham is being paid millions as an ambassador the tournament.
Even more disturbing are the reports that hundreds and possibly thousands of workers brought in from other nations to build venues died in appalling conditions during the past decade. One estimate is 6,500 deaths in the past decade.
Athletes, team members, and spectators have been warned that Qatar's laws are strongly anti-LGTBQ2S+ and that homosexual acts can be punished by prison terms or the death penality.
So, why are Canada and many other nations participating in the World Cup? At times it seems that human rights really, really matter in Canada...until they don't...until it's inconvenient or not economically advantageous to uphold our principles.
I do hope that the Canadian team exceeds expectations and it is exciting that they have qualified. We can pray that the world pays attention to the human rights issues beneath the sporting story and that there will be greater accountability in events to come.
2 comments:
"So, why are Canada and many other nations participating in the World Cup? At times it seems that human rights really, really matter in Canada...until they don't...until it's inconvenient or not economically advantageous to uphold our principles."
I guess Canada would have had to object a number of years ago when FIFA awarded it to Qatar. As things come into focus close to the event, then to withdraw would mean punishing the athletes who had worked so hard to qualify. And the fans whose hearts are already into this. So there are some people who are protesting or wanting to protest there in Qatar -- but that's not working out too well. Ironic for Qatar that in hosting the games, they've cast a spotlight on their human rights issues. KB
Human rights groups raised concerns about awarding the World Cup to both Russia and Qatar, along with the Olympics x 2 to China. With Qatar it's clearly a matter of money, which is discouraging. FIFAs warning to players not to make any form of protest and the compliance of the various national organizations is a moral failure to be sure. Thanks Kathy. I always appreciate the feedback!
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