Since Qatar was awarded the World Cup, thousands of migrant workers have died or gotten injured in Qatar. The reportage series ‘Cards of Qatar‘ by Swedish investigative journalism platform Blankspot shows the reality behind the statistics. In a catalogue of football cards facts about the players have been exchanged for the deceased migrant workers and their fate. At the launch of Cards of Qatar 33 dead migrant workers from rural Nepal, Bangladesh and India are published. Their relatives have told Blankspot the real story of their close ones. We will publish more cards until kick off in November 2022. “These workers are not just statistics. Their stories need to be heard. At first glance, everything from the portraits, the glossy surface, and the packaging creates the impression of authentic football cards. But at a closer look, the portraits and stories belong to migrant workers in Qatar, each with an unfiltered story,” says Martin Schibbye, chief editor and co-founder of Blankspot. The cards ar complemented by long-form articles and interviews with players, politicians and workers’ organizations.
Blankspot is a Sweden based investigative journalism platform founded 2015 whose aim is to tell the untold stories: putting the overlooked corners of the world under the looking glass. Together with a team of local journalists in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh Blankspot started collecting stories of migrant workers directly from the families and widows they left behind. The interviews with families in Nepal have been done by Udwab Bhatterai and Martin Schibbye. Somya Lakhani has worked with contacting families in India, Muslima Jahan Setu and Mohammed Owasim Uddin Bhuyan have done interviews in Bangladesh.
Got a confidential tip? At Blankspot they are searching for more stories on migrant workers that have deceased while working in Qatar. Please use Signal, a free and open source messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption to send messages, photos, videos and calls or send a letter. Postal address: Cards of Qatar, Blankspot Project, Wallingatan 37, 111 24 Stockholm, Sweden.
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