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Gambian Teenagers Working at World Cup in Qatar Reportedly Still Unable to Leave Country

© AFP 2024 ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULATWorkers take a break on the Corniche in Doha on November 15, 2022, ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament.
Workers take a break on the Corniche in Doha on November 15, 2022, ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 29.06.2023
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Three teenagers from The Gambia who worked as security guards in Qatar at the football World Cup are still unable to leave the Middle Eastern country six months after the tournament ended, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
The Gambians aged from 16 to 19 were fired a few days after the end of the tournament without warning, the report said, adding that they had been placed in a government shelter since January, while not allowed to leave it to search for a job, with their documents seized. Living conditions in the shelter were "like a prison," the newspaper also stated, citing one of the teenagers.
"We are tired of everything and want to go back home, but they’re telling us to buy tickets for ourselves, which they know we can’t afford," Ebrima, an 18-year-old Gambian, was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
The teenagers said that they had come to Qatar after finding jobs offered by a local recruitment agent, but realized upon their arrival in Doha that they had been duped. In Qatar, they had to face unpaid wages, threats of deportation and 12-hour shifts on construction sites, the report said.
Cameroon's goalkeeper Andre Onana celebrates during the World Cup 2022 qualifying soccer match at the Mustapha Tchaker stadium in Blida, Algeria, Tuesday, March 29, 2022. - Sputnik Africa, 1920, 18.11.2022
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Shortly before the start of the World Cup, the Gambians signed six-month contracts with a private security company to work as security guards during the tournament with a monthly salary of 2,700 rials ($730), the report added. However, they were fired three months before the expiration of the contract without receiving full wages for their work.
The Qatari government is "expediting the procedures to facilitate the workers’ departure in line with their wishes, while also ensuring that any outstanding dues owed to them are settled," the newspaper reported, citing a government spokesperson.
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