{Originally posted to author’s website, FirstOne Through}
People often complain that they would love to boycott one of the many countries with horrible human rights, but cannot do so as those countries do not make or export anything of value. Well, here’s the good news: Qatar brings Al Jazeera direct to many homes in your country.
Human Rights Abuse in Qatar
Qatar is a very small country in the Arabian Peninsula. The total country population of 2 million only consists of 10% Qatari nationals; roughly 90% of the balance are migrant workers who experience a variety of abuses according to Human Rights Watch. The abuses for these workers include:
- trafficking and forced labor
- passport confiscation and requirement for an exit visa
- terrible living conditions
- unsafe working conditions (Nepalese workers on the FIFA stadium die at a rate of a person every two days)
- lack of freedom of expression
The country abuses many citizens in addition to the migrant workers:
- Speaking against Islam is considered a crime
- Apostasy, converting from Islam is a capital offense
- Being gay is a capital offense
- Adultery is a capital offense (the death penalty, while written in law, has not been carried out in a decade)
Seemingly unsatisfied with brutalized its own population, Qatar also funds terrorists in Gaza (Hamas) and in Libya.
These facts may get lost on the general American public, as the Obama administration commends its own negotiation prowess and Qatar’s joining the coalition fighting ISIS.
Al Jazeera
Qatar is a very wealthy nation thanks to its location atop various oil fields. It has used its considerable wealth to buy and build various properties around the world. These include Harrod’s, the swanky department store in London as well as The Shard and 1 Hyde Park, expensive buildings in London. It was also able to win the competition to host the World Cup global soccer tournament in 2022. (Here is a funny video by HBO’s John Oliver about FIFA and Qatar).
Qatar also owns a large media company called Al Jazeera. It entered the United States market by buying former Vice President Al Gore’s CurrentTV for about $500 million in 2013. It has since rebranded that channel Al Jazeera America. It is now available in many US households.
Al Jazeera is not simply owned by a country that supports terrorism. The channel itself is a mouthpiece for terrorism.
In 2014, the channel gave special airtime to various members of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. The main media channel, Al Jazeera Arabic, routinely posts anti-US and anti-Semitic pieces. But those posts are beyond the capabilities and reach of most Americans, so they believe that watching Al Jazeera America is simply watching a news channel that represents an Arab point of view. In truth, they are supporting a media company that broadcasts propaganda for terrorists, which is owned by a government that funds those same terrorists.
For those looking for a BDS (boycott, divestment and sanction) of their own. there is an opportunity right in your home.
Related First.One.Through articles:
Apostasy: https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2015/01/13/apostasy/
Murderous governments of the Middle East: https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/murderous-governments-of-the-middle-east/
Dancing with the Asteroids: https://firstonethrough.wordpress.com/2014/11/14/dancing-with-the-asteroids/