Foreign Correspondent: June 2

While FIFA is facing a corruption scandal Foreign Correspondent‘s Eric Campbell is in Qatar to see how the wealthy emirate stands accused of being a slave state through its harsh treatment of workers building World Cup facilities.

Foreign Correspondent’s Eric Campbell has been in Qatar to witness how this Middle East emirate – the world’s richest country per capita – is spending some of the $260 billion it’s showering on new stadiums, hotels and infrastructure.

He discovered that the people doing the hard work – migrant labourers mostly from South Asia – endure wretched living and working conditions.

Australian Sharan Burrow, former ACTU chief, takes Campbell on a tour of a hostel of Nepalese workers, living 12 to a room, who endure filthy kitchens, washing and toilet facilities and work six days a week for up to 12 hours a day with no paid overtime.

Qatar has a system called kafala which means foreign workers surrender their passports to the employer who decides where they work and even whether they can even leave Qatar. In response to international pressure, including from FIFA, Qatar is promising to reform the kafala system.

Eric Campbell’s investigation also took him to France, to hear to bizarre story of former footballer Abdes Ouaddou, who was hired to play in Qatari League. At first all went well but then he was ordered to change clubs, his salary was cut and he was denied an exit visa.

Only by complaining to a player’s union and FIFA was Ouaddou eventually allowed to leave. But he remains outraged that Qatar has been given the right to stage the World Cup.

Tuesday, June 2 at 8pm on ABC.