Under the guise of being a tourist, the French journalist Pierre-Stéphane Fort traveled to Qatar to film behind the scenes – a few months before the start of the World Cup. The methods he used led to revelations of serious breaches of Qatar’s own laws. But in a country without freedom of the press, everything had to be documented in secret – and with minimal equipment: – I had two cameras. One was my smartphone. I used the latest iPhone which has a good camera, and then a hidden camera which is the size of a coin. I had it with me everywhere, says Fort to news. CLOSE ON: Fort films himself in the car after arriving in Qatar. Outside the car, the risk of being ticked is high. Photo: StudioFact Although the equipment was simple, the images were unique. Namely, they showed a different truth than what the advertisements and regulations of the governing authorities promise. But what if he was exposed? – Above all, I saw the same thing In the documentary “Qatar World Cup: dirty game” much is about how Qatar was awarded the football World Cup in the first place. Meeting high up in the system in France and questions about corruption are closely followed at the seams, but Fort also examined the conditions in the country up close – and this is where the unconventional methods were put into use. With the help of a local fixer, who is called “John” in the documentary, he visited, among other things, several industrial areas in Doha and got inside where several of the migrant workers live. Specifically insurance workers, who will work in Qatar during the championship. Film clips from these homes reveal serious breaches of the law. The documentary shows wretched sanitary conditions for the security workers. The kitchen facilities are not very appetizing either. The workers are promised their own laundry, but clothes and shoes are washed by hand in buckets. It is both dirty and limited opportunities in the kitchens that are filmed. Space is also tight in the bedrooms. In documentaries you can see cockroaches running around both on the floor and walls . – I visited between 10 and 20 labor camps. Many of them. I saw the same thing everywhere. Very bad living conditions, tell Fort. In order to be able to film these pictures, Fort gave himself out, among other things, to being a tele fitter. He also bought what he calls “migrant clothes”, which he explains was to avoid looking like a random tourist. But the journalist also secretly filmed where the migrant workers have free time. A film sequence from a beach called “California” is claimed to have never been filmed before. Here, the migrant workers take a big chance by drinking alcohol, which is forbidden in Qatar. RISK: The helper “John” explains in the documentary that the workers come to the beach “California” to drink alcohol and socialize. Violating the law The building also violates Qatari legislation. The recording in the documentary was made over the past nine months. According to Qatari authorities, each person must have at least six square meters in the bedroom, and they must be separated by a partition or curtain for privacy. In some of the rooms Fort visited, up to six people were offered in ten square meters: The kitchen must have a refrigerator and the possibility to wash hands. Several of those Fort visited had none of these: The kitchen facilities Fort films are simple. These hobs are claimed to be shared between 200 people in the housing unit. The governing authorities also advertise with a gymnasium, indoor activities such as billiards, and large green areas outside. But in the areas Fort traveled to, the area was very littered and without a green spot to be seen: Thought he was going to be arrested The stay in Qatar resulted in large amounts of photographic material. To ensure that nothing was taken from him if he was caught, he had the same routine every night. – I thought every morning that the police would come and knock on the door and arrest me. So every night after filming I used a good VPN and sent all the material to Paris, to my press agency. I didn’t sleep much, because it took time to send the files. After the transfer, I deleted everything on the mobile. So if the police came in the morning, they wouldn’t find the films or be able to identify the ones I filmed, he says. DOCUMENTATION: After he had sent all the contents to Paris, Fort deleted all evidence on the mobile phone. Photo: StudioFact The journalist believes he never had a choice when it came to the use of hidden cameras and fictitious roles. – I was only there as a “tourist”. I said nothing to the authorities. Normally you have to say from three to four weeks in advance where you will film, who you will meet and all that. If I had done that, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to… He pauses a bit before he brings up the arrest of two news journalists judging by what could have happened if he filmed the footage. – There is no press freedom in Qatar, so the only way to work freely is to be “undercover”. The day after the documentary aired on TV for the first time, Qatar came up with further stricter rules for filming in the country during the World Cup, according to The Guardian. – They chose to criminalize it. They would rather do that than improve conditions for the workers there. They prefer to ban the filming, says Fort to news. The French filmmakers state in the documentary that they made 15 attempts to get an interview with the Qatari authorities – without success. news has also tried to get a comment from the governing authorities, but has so far not received a response. Watch the documentary “Qatar WC: dirty game” on news TV:
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Journalist used a hidden identity – revealed violations of the law – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
