Qatar official says death rate of Indian workers is normal
A Qatar human rights body has said the reported deaths of 478 Indian workers in Qatar during the last two years was "normal", a figure that another human rights group has called "horrendous".
AFP news agency reported the deaths on Monday following an information request to the Indian embassy in Doha.
The embassy said 237 had died in 2012 and 241 in 2013, but did not provide their causes of death.
In response to the figures, Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri, the head of Qatari government-affiliated National Human Rights Committee, told AFP on Tuesday: "Indians make up the largest community in Qatar... twice the number of Qatari nationals."
About 500,000 Indians live in Qatar, which is experiencing a construction boom staffed primarily by young men from South Asian countries.
He said: "If we look at the numbers of Qataris who died ... of natural causes ... over the past two years, we see that numbers of deaths among the Indian community are normal."
The country's ministry of labour and social affairs told the Guardian newspaper that they were aware of some of the figures from local media reports and were working to understand the causes of these deaths.
"Clearly any one death in Qatar or anywhere else is one death too many – for the workers, for their families, but also for Qataris who welcome guest workers to our country to perform valuable jobs," it said.
"We are working to understand the causes of these deaths – as these statistics could include a range of circumstances including natural causes, and road safety incidents, as well as a smaller number of workplace incidents."
Campaign against Qatar
Al-Maari said he wanted clarifications on the circumstances of the deaths, insisting that there was a "campaign against Qatar," reported AFP.
Qatar has faced mounting criticism from human rights groups over the safety and working conditions of migrants working in the construction industry, which has been highlighted in media reports since last year mostly focusing on Nepalese workers.
Nicholas McGeehan, the Qatar and UAE researcher for Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera that it was not helpful to dismiss the death figures as "normal" and claim it as a campaign against the country when it already had a bad safety record.
He said: "We need to hear how the workers died, and we need to find out the extent of how it was related to their living and working conditions," he said.
"The Indian embassy should be as concerned about these figures as the Qataris [...] because they give an indication of an unfolding tragedy in Qatar.
Source: Al Jazeera
This is a very irresponsible statement without any proper investigation. Labour Law violations is normal because poor law enforcement. No expat is allowed to enter the country with poor health fitness but, the actual harsh working and poor living conditions are dimissing their health and safety
" In response to the figures, Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri, the head of Qatari government-affiliated National Human Rights Committee, told AFP on Tuesday: "Indians make up the largest community in Qatar... twice the number of Qatari nationals."He said: "If we look at the numbers of Qataris who died ... of natural causes ... over the past two years, we see that numbers of deaths among the Indian community are normal."
NO MR. Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri, YOU ARE TERRIBLY WRONG AND INSENSITIVE ! YOUR COUNTRY SCREENS THE IMMIGRANTS AND CHECK THEIR HEALTH CONDITIONS BEFORE THEY ARE GRANTED WORK PERMITS. YOUR HEALTH MINISTRY WILL NOT LET ANYONE WHO IS NOT IN A GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION TO WORK. YOUR STATEMENT SHOWS HOW IRRESPONSIBLE, BLINDED AND CARELESS ARE THE AUTHORITIES ABOUT THE HARSH AND DEADLY WORKING CONDITIONS THAT EXIST FOR EXPAT LOW PROFILE WORKERS. AT LEAST REMEMBER THE CLIMATE CONTROLLED MANSIONS AND TOWERS WE SIT IN AND RELAX IS BOUNDED BY AN EXPAT LABORER'S SWEAT OR MAY BE BLOOD........
Life and death are in the hands of the Almighty Allah. If it is in the will of Allah a person would meet his death in Qatar, what can a government do about it? Last year, a young engineer from India in his early forties who was working in my company, suffered a massive heart attack, and did not survive. How is the government of Qatar responsible for this? I agree with Al-Marri in that there is a campaign taking place against Qatar.
Take them with you in the first class paid journey to your next destinations to discover more 'deaths ' ....
Thu, 20.02.2014, 07.04 hrs ....
If you are not doing a joke .... meet these people in India at the airports ..... tell them the 'death' there only ....
Thu, 20.02.2014, 07.02 hrs ....
What are you doing when a woman is unable to bear a baby ?
Find a job to earn your three meals a day .......
Thu, 20.02.2014, 06.59 hrs ....
What is your interest in somebody else's death ?
Look at some other options .....
Doing propaganda at others' death at others' country is dirtiest politics ........
Thu, 20.02.2014, 06.55 hrs ....
Raheeb- If it is normal then there must be a record for death of the other nationalities as well, right? Even if the number is less, why those deaths are not highlighted?
That is Approx 20 Deaths per month , Every 36 Hour one India Die , Every one has to die one day , In that sense it is normal