Simpson: Pipeline to Peril

The Simpson investigation about the exploitation of workers from developing countries touched me, because this issue is very personal to me. Throughout the Arabian Gulf and now Iraq, workers come from all over South and South East Asia to find lucrative menial jobs in hopes of earning enough to return home wealthy. Like the Simpson article explained they are lured by wages that are more than they could make at home but in dollars only about 125 to 400. The ‘employment agents’, as stated in the article promise jobs in other countries, often misrepresenting or lying about the wage. In return they charge a huge sum both for their ‘service’ and airfare. Essentially when these workers get to their jobs their families are in so much debt they have no choice but to continue to work. In both Iraq and in Gulf States they are forced to live in almost concentration camp style, not allowed to freely come or go. Their working conditions are horrible and deadly accidents occur often.

In Qatar I spent a lot of time working to help improve both working conditions and worker rights in the country. The article mentions Doha as a destination and Qatar Airways. I think it is important to look at not only this one incident Simpson investigated, but also the general practice of exploiting developing countries’ workers and forcing them to work in hazardous conditions. It is important to recognize that this was not simply a one time incident but that this is a systematic practice being used by international corporations in both Iraq and the Gulf