Case Study: An international migration – Qatar
Doha: the capital of Qatar
What are they doing there?
Doha
°C 45
Temperature
mm 450
Rainfall
40
400
35
350
30
300
25
250
20
200
15
150
10
100 MAXIMUM
5 0
50
J F MA M J J A S O ND
78
77
Jan Feb
76
71
67
JFMAMJJASOND
Humidity 67 68
70
70
68
75
0 (%) 81
Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
Where are the migrants from? The origin of migrants: the top 14 (2013)
Country of origin India Nepal Philippines Bangladesh Sri Lanka Pakistan Sudan Indonesia Jordan Iran Lebanon Palestine UK USA
Number of migrants 545 000 341 000 185 000 137 000 100 000 90 000 42 000 38 000 34 000 30 000 25 000 20 500 20 000 15 000
TASK 3: Study Source a Describe the climate of Qatar throughout the year. Refer to: ■ minimum and maximum average temperatures ■ rainfall ■ humidity. b How does this compare with the climate where you live? c Suggest the physical problems migrants have to cope with in Qatar. How might they be solved?
Visitors arriving at Qatar Airport will have their passport stamped by a Qatari. After that they will feel they are in several other countries! There are car-hire attendants from Pakistan, taxi-drivers from Bangladesh, hotel porters from India, waitresses from the Philippines, shopkeepers from India, building labourers from Nepal, teachers from the UK and Americans turning pink on their day off from the oil and gas industries. If you commit a crime you may find yourself before a judge from Egypt. The kafala system: Foreign workers must be sponsored by companies based in Qatar. They become responsible for their visa, legal status and working conditions. The workers must hand in their passports to their employers. They cannot change jobs or leave the country at will. They need an exit permit to get out of Qatar and that has to be approved by the employer.
TASK 4: Study Source a There were 278 000 Qataris living in Qatar in 2013. Which two countries had most migrant workers in the country? b Using a world outline map, draw a flow-diagram to show the origin of the top 14 countries supplying migrants in 2013. Use a scale of 1 mm = 30 000 migrants. c Describe and explain the pattern you have drawn. TASK 5: Study Source a Divide the different jobs that migrant workers can do in Qatar into two lists: ■ jobs requiring high skills and qualifications ■ jobs requiring low skills and no qualifications. b What evidence is there in the photograph of: ■ building work taking place? ■ workers protecting themselves against the climate? c What is your view of the kafala system and how it affects migrants in Qatar? TASK 6: Many migrants are helping to build stadiums and infrastructure for the World Cup in 2022. Research the current situation in Qatar regarding this event.
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