Doha settles Afghan refugees at complex built for guests at 2022 FIFA World Cup
Sep 12, 2021
Doha [Qatar], September 12 (ANI/Sputnik): Qatar accommodated Afghan refugees who fled the homeland following the Taliban takeover at residential compounds designed for the guests of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a Qatari government official said in an interview with Sputnik.
"Afghan families were accommodated in two-story villas on the territory of a guarded residential complex on the outskirts of the Qatari capital of Doha. It was originally built to accommodate people during the future World Cup, then they decided to use it as a backup for quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic, and when the situation with Afghans arose, they gave [the facilities] to them to live there," the official said.
The refugees, however, cannot leave the territory of the complex, as not all of them have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, the official said, noting they have everything they need inside the facility -- spacious houses with central air conditioning, furniture, internet connection, a shop, sports and playgrounds, a gym, a medical center, a kindergarten. In the evening, when it is not so hot, various Qatari organizations arrange entertainment events and sports competitions for them.
"In this compound, there are currently some 300 people, Afghan families, we had to allocate a special complex exclusively for families, as Americans handed us over 70 teenagers aged 11 to 15, literally street children who flew to Qatar without any relatives or documents. They began to terrorize families, and we had to leave them in a separate residential complex, accommodating adult men with each small group of teenagers," the official said.
Afghan refugees who have moved to Qatar do not expect to stay in the country for a long period. They are waiting for decisions from the authorities of Western countries -- the United States, Canada, Germany -- in order to emigrate there, since in Qatar, Afghans, like other foreigners, can only obtain temporary work visas.
According to the Qatari foreign ministry data, some 114,000 people left Afghanistan on evacuation flights, with over 58,000 of them via Qatar. (ANI/Sputnik)
