Will you be able to celebrate your love of soccer in a country where your identity could compromise your safety?
If you had the opportunity of a lifetime to cheer on your favorite player or team, in person at a huge global event, but it was in a country where you could possibly be arrested or worse just for being who you are, would you go?
Next week, Qatar will welcome teams from 32 nations and about 1.2 million fans, government leaders, and journalists into its borders for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This year the global event will take place November 20 - December 18, 2022. As with any international event with so many eyes on it, the host country is interested in protecting its image while still adhering to its laws, customs, and culture. Being that Qatar is a country whose laws align with sharia law, this will be a challenge as it welcomes fans from all walks of life into the country.
While the threat of crime, political violence, and civil unrest is low in Qatar, the US State Department still rates the threat of terrorism at medium because some terrorist groups continue to target US interests worldwide. But the biggest concern during the World Cup will probably come from how security and law enforcement services treat international visitors. With 1.2 million fans from around the world, there will be representatives of all ethnicities
, genders, religions, sexual preferences, marital status, etc attending the month long event. Qatar has had many human rights issues: from extremely restrictive and brutal laws, treatment and consequences affecting women and members of the LGBTQ+ community to the allegations of forced labor, poor working conditions, and deaths of migrant workers involved in the preparation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Add to this the lack of privacy and freedom of speech, with the fate of non-Qatari citizen protestors being unclear, and the challenge of an increase of security personnel from other countries with additional language, culture, customs, and methods of handling violations of the law; the travel risk to international visitors is significantly elevated.
If you are attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and you fall in one of the vulnerable categories, please understand that it is imperative that you thoroughly assess your personal travel risk and make the necessary plans and preparations for your safety prior to leaving home. Research the laws, customs, and culture, especially those that directly affect your personal circumstances. Develop a plan of how to responsibly respond if approached by security and law enforcement personnel. Have a communications plan to keep in touch with trusted contacts who can alert the US diplomatic establishment in Qatar if you are incapacitated or unable to access them yourself.
We cannot control the actions of others, but we can control how we respond. This event is meant to be a time of friendly competition, bringing together people from all over the world to celebrate a common passion. But sometimes our differences and the anti-humanitarian actions of some can make this difficult. Assessing your risk and making the relevant preparations will help you know how to rationally respond in a way that best minimizes the impact of an encounter with someone acting in an undesirable way.
Comments