Qatar at center of oil crisis, amid migrant woes and World Cup fears

Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said that regaining trust with GCC countries will take a long time.

The implications of the Qatari crisis has begun to directly impact expats, with many workers have been asked to take unpaid leave amid sky-rocketing prices in the country.

Similarly, the construction being done ahead of Doha's hosting of the 2022 World Cup has slowed down and the country has stumbled upon an oil crisis. 

Oil and debt
The sharp decline in oil prices, as well as slowing sponsorship system has also triggered expats to leave. Other reasons include the increased price of fresh produce as a result of closing down the Saudi-Qatari border.

The consequences of the apparent complications has put the country in debt to workers not receiving their salaries. Qatar has several workers from India and Nepal who earn about QR 800 monthly and make up an estimated 90 percent of the country’s total population of 2.7 million people.

According to a Human Rights Watch report, many migrant workers, primarily from South Asia, are stranded in Saudi Arabia because their Qatari sponsors had to return to Doha under the terms of the Gulf rift.

source: Alarabiya