Modernism in Qatar: The South Asian Migrant Struggle and the Evolution of the Kafala System

Migrant labor in Qatar has taken a once desert landscape, and modernized it into a civilized city. The majority of the migrant workers entering Qatar are South Asian. These people are being deceived and taken advantage of, exposing a humanitarian crisis. Recently there have been many studies that look specifically at the humanitarian crisis, however many scholars have not pieced together how the South Asian workers are being specifically targeted for migrant work as well as the evolution of the Kafala. In my Senior I.S. I intend to identify how Qatar has exploited these workers by looking at Qatar’s rapid modernization, the evolution of the Kafala system, the capital created from oil as well as the diversification of business, and the lack of work opportunities in these South Asian countries as well as the. The conclusions in this I.S. are drawn from various readings such as Qatar: Small State Big Politics, Oil and Politics in the Gulf, Slaves of One Master, and other academic organizations, as well as ongoing studies in newspapers and interviews. Through this I.S., the reader will get a better understanding of how South Asian migrant workers are being exploited. Many individuals only have knowledge of the end result, however this I.S. identifies the many mechanisms that led to this humanitarian crisis in Qatar and many Gulf states like it as well as the evolution of the Kafala system