Freeza squeed infantino4/2/2023 However the European Commission claims that 21.6m people, or 4.2% of the total population, are third party nationals. If the EU really cared about the destiny of these people, then EU could also do as Qatar did to create some legal channels where at least a percentage of these workers could come to EU … give them some work, give them some future.”Ĭriticism of European treatment of migrants from outside the bloc is widespread and often comes from the same people who criticise the Qatar World Cup. Those who reach Europe or who want to go to Europe have to go through a very difficult journey and survive. Hundreds of thousands of workers from developing countries come to Qatar and earn many times more and help families to survive. These groups have been critical of Fifa and Qatar’s “caring” for workers. These governments, however, have not spoken out to criticise the World Cup, instead it has been a coalition of unions and NGOs as well as journalists and, in some cases, football authorities and players. Infantino is right to observe that western governments, including those of the UK and USA, have a dependency on Qatari natural gas and oil, especially during the current Ukraine war. Who? Fifa does, the World Cup does and to be fair to them Qatar does as well.” Now they all come and they all want something and who is actually caring about the workers. They all come because a country which has just sand and pearls turns out to have something much more, it’s gas. We see here many government representatives coming to Qatar. I don’t have to defend Qatar, I’m defending football and injustice. Again Infantino’s criticism speaks to a perceived hypocrisy. The question of whether, and to what extent, contemporary European societies are responsible for the past, and should perhaps also undertake restitution, remains an active debate. An anti-slavery movement did not appear in the UK until the late 18th century. But if you substitute 300 for 3,000 then many European countries were colonial powers, putting human beings into slavery and exploiting natural resources. In the year 1,000 BC, the concept of Europe did not exist and those living within the geographical boundaries were emerging from the Bronze Age. I think for what we Europeans have been doing in the last 3,000 years, around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons to people.” We are told many many lessons from some Europeans, the western world. Sepp Blatter watches as the then-emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, celebrates his nation winning the hosting rights in 2010. This gives the impression of a relativist approach to a highly sensitive debate. Infantino has also lumped together the experience of exploited workers and those of LGBTQ+ people whose sexuality is illegal in Qatar, with those of some Qataris themselves – especially those at the top of society – who feel they have been the subject of unfair criticism. The metaphor, comparing being bullied for having red hair to the experience of migrant workers who remain exploited in Qatar to this day, appears flippant, but is likely sincere. They are personalised and speak to his key theme, that of hypocrisy and that the way to effect change is not through confrontation but “engagement”. Infantino’s opening remarks set the tone for his unexpectedly lengthy address. You try to engage … You don’t start accusing or fighting, you start engaging. What do you do then? You lock yourself down in your room, you cry and then you try to make some friends. I was bullied, plus I was Italian, so imagine. At school I was bullied because I had red hair and freckles. I feel like them because I know what it feels like to be discriminated, to be bullied as a foreigner in a country.
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