INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
These men appear gaunt and dazed, most of them carrying nothing but a thin blanket they picked up on the plane
Some walk barefoot.All have just been deported from Saudi Arabia, and each day they arrive by the planeload
ticket home.The only thing the men do bring back are horrific stories of abuse, false contracts and wage theft that tumble angrily out of
hosting the 2034 World Cup
The pipeline of workers from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia is expected to increase dramatically if the country is anointed host by Fifa, as
flag to Fifa, which was heavily criticised for the severe abuse endured by many migrant workers in the lead?up to the 2022 tournament in
Qatar.Human rights groups are warning that if Saudi Arabia does not make drastic efforts to stop the abuse of migrant workers, which is
already widespread in the Gulf kingdom, another World Cup tournament could be tainted with suffering and exploitation.My boss cancelled my
papers without telling me
He told the police to send me back
He owed me six months wagesMohammed RohmotullahBangladeshi labourers are not usually to blame for failing to have the correct residency
Many arriving back in Bangladesh claim their employer or sponsor failed to obtain or renew their iqama document, which they need to legally
in Saudi Arabia for three and a half years
despite having valid papersOthers say their iqama was still valid but they were deported regardless
while eating breakfast and taken directly to a detention centre, where they were typically held for one to two weeks before being sent
straight home.Conditions in detention centres vary, but some men allege they were kept in huge overcrowded cells where 250 to 300 men slept
two to a single bed or on the floor
There were no showers, little food and no chance to appeal, they claim
sandals issued at Saudi detention centres, where migrant workers say they were held in appalling conditionsThe consequences of being
deported are particularly dire for Bangladeshis
Almost all migrant workers must pay extortionate fees to recruitment agents for their jobs in the Gulf, but Bangladeshis are charged by far
Many are forced home before they can pay off the cost of their recruitment.One of the last to emerge at Dhaka airport is 65?year?old Sabir
Ahmed, who spent 26 years in Saudi Arabia
He carries a small rucksack but there is nothing in it
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
