In the 1940s the capital of Qatar, Doha, was a small port town with a population of around 15,000. Today there are approx 2.3 million people living there, making up the majority of Qatar’s population of 2.9 million. Around 1 million of them are migrant workers from South Asia, many of who have been building stadiums for the World Cup, while there are only 300,000 Qatari citizens.

With three days to go before the tournament starts we speak to anthropologist John McManus whose new book, Inside Qatar, offers an insightful portrait of the host nation. This racialised hierarchy, McManus argues, is a modern version of the British Empire’s “ethnic division” of labour.

 

We also discuss Ronaldo’s revealing interview, Danish TV’s encounter with the local Qatari authorities and we address a listener’s concerns about covering the World Cup given their human rights record and the number of migrant worker deaths in Qatar since the stadium builds began.

Click the large image at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all and to listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, Richie Sadlier’s Player’s Chair, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, like our recent international series  ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.

 

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