Almost a year since the Stark Security incident, many of the former employees Equidem spoke with continue to struggle. Many of those who were arrested and deported back to their home country have not been able to find employment making it extremely difficult to support themselves and their families. Some have found work abroad, however, the same illicit recruitment practices these workers experienced before migrating to Qatar, being forced to pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, continue to be the barrier to getting any job abroad.

While some are not able to find the money to pay these illegal recruitment fees, others have taken out loans, in addition to the money they still owe from their previous recruitment cycle to Qatar. For those who stayed in Qatar, employment opportunities are limited. Since the 2022 FIFA World Cup came to an end last December, those who previously worked for Stark Security say that there are significantly fewer jobs and have been unable to secure employment.

Arrested Organisers of ‘Protest’

Three of the men who organised the workers to take the buses to Stark Security’s head office and peacefully negotiate the collection of their remaining salary, and subsequently sentenced to 6 months in prison and a 10,000 rials (£2,205) fine, have all been released. However, despite two of the fines having been paid on 24 September 2023, one of the workers was not released until 27 September 2023, and the other not until 1 November 2023. There has been no explanation for the delays.

Workers from The Gambia Held in the Shelter

Three former Stark Security employees from The Gambia, who worked during the World Cup became homeless after their contracts were wrongfully terminated, ended in a government shelter (run by the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT) under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour) where they have been able to stay while they file and settle their labour complaint to the Ministry of Labour in Qatar. All three were told by those in the shelter to file against their original sponsors and not Stark Security. In July one had come to a settlement with his sponsor in court and received 9,000 Rials and went home while the other two were awarded 21,000 and 28,000 respectively in early August but have been stuck at the shelter waiting to receive their money. There has been an utter lack of transparency and information and their lives have essentially been put on hold until this process is over.

Personal thoughts

This case is emblematic of the system in Qatar that renders workers disposable, a word that is dehumanizing, but only begins to describe the experience felt by countless migrant workers. These Stark Security employees paid exorbitant illegal recruitment fees in their country of origin to get to Qatar, taking out loans, and in some cases selling valuable property for an opportunity to eventually work for a company that deceived them and dropped their contracts the moment the tournament was over. And instead of punishing the company and celebrating these workers for attempting to peacefully negotiate receiving their remaining salary, they were punished through their arrest and deportation. They are now in an even more vulnerable position than what led them to migrate to Qatar in the first place. There has been no accountability for Stark Security or FIFA for the labour rights violations of hundreds of these workers who made the tournament possible. This would not have been possible had these workers been valued as human beings.