The 2014 Winter Olympics might still be a few months away,
but they are already having an impact.
For the most part, the only piece of the Olympics that the majority of
people will see is the two weeks of televised sports between the Opening and
Closing ceremonies. We see the
triumphant athletic successes and emotional stories as narrated by Bob
Costas. What we do not see is the
exploitation of over 16,000 migrant workers who were brought in to build the
stadiums and arenas and the families who have been displaced (without
compensation) so these facilities could be built on their land.
Human Rights Watch interviewed workers employed on Sochi
construction sites working in low-wage and low-skill jobs like carpentry and
welding. They discovered that they their
typical wages were between the U.S. equivalent of $1.80-$2.60 per hour, that
is, if they got paid at all. The workers
consistently reported that their employers failed to pay their wages in full,
if they were even paid at all. As
expected, the contractors who hired these workers denied these claims, which
means that it’s the workers’ words versus the contractors’. One might ask why
the workers continued to do their jobs if they were not being adequately
compensated. During the interviews, workers stated that their employers claimed
they would pay them “tomorrow,” so they kept coming back.
Unfortunately, the workers cannot afford to take legal
action. Migrant workers who did complain
about the lack of wages and other abuses (12 hour shifts, 7 days a week, one
day off every two weeks) were reported to the Russian authorities by their
employers and subsequently deported.
Additionally, part of the lure of coming to Sochi for work was that part
of their compensation was that food and housing would be provided. However, the housing is typically overcrowded
and the meals are insufficient to adequately provide the nutrition necessary to
sustain the long hours of manual labor the workers perform. Human Rights workers looked at the housing
supplied to the workers and found that “in some cases, over 200 workers lived
in very cramped conditions in a single family home” (Human Rights Watch, 2013).
The abuse is not just limited to migrant workers. Russian citizens have found themselves
displaced and without basic necessities like water. One village relied on five wells as a water
source since it does not have running water.
However, once Olympic construction started, four of the wells were paved
over to build a road and the fifth has since been contaminated by runoff
containing pollution related to the construction. It took several months, but there is now a
water truck that services the village once a week; each resident is allowed 200
liters of water. Additionally, cement
factories have been constructed near residential areas and operate day and
night, creating environmental and noise pollution. Complaints to local authorities have gone
unanswered (Gill, 2009).
I find it ironic that an event that is supposed to promote
world unity is being built on the violations of the rights of those who are not
in a position to defend themselves. When
we watch the athletes take the stage this February, we should be aware of what it cost to build that stage.
Gill, Allison. (2009). “Letter to the International
Olympic Committee: Human Rights Concerns Related
to the Sochi Games.” Retrieved from:http://www.hrw.org/news/2009/10/01/letter-international-olympic-committee-human-rights-concerns-related-sochi-games
Human Rights Watch. (2013). Russia: Migrant
Olympic Workers Cheated, Exploited. Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/06/russia-migrant-olympic-workers-cheated-exploited
This post is really interesting, although I can’t say I’m extremely surprised at this. It seems anytime an event attracts huge numbers of people and promises economic benefit, there is also the opportunity for exploitation and for unequal distribution of those benefits. I thought I would try to find information on past Olympics—interestingly when I searched “human rights + Beijing Olympics,” one of the first articles I found painted the issue in a positive light. It talked about the increased activity of various NGOs and human rights groups such as Amnesty International that used the global attention to advocate for increased human rights in China. It went on to talk about the “transnational public sphere” and “imagined global community” but it makes you wonder if potential progress in the policy arena was tainted by abuses to individuals at that time.
ReplyDeleteBrownwell, S. (2012). Human rights and the Beijing Olympics: imagined global community and the transnational public sphere. The British Journal of Sociology, 63(2).
Part of the irony of the mass expenditures and exploitation undertaken to host an event on the world stage is the fact that most of the structures that are built will prove to costly to maintain after the conclusion of the games- there are several photographic series attesting to this. In addition to the rights violations of workers, host countries may also find that the cost of construction necessitates the diversion of funds from other public services.
ReplyDeleteJanae, you mentioned the violations against locals and migrant workers in Sochi. The upcoming World Cup and Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro have resulted in widespread protests all over Brazil. Much of the media coverage here focused on the destructive capacity of the protests, with no meaningful interrogation of their cause. At best, I saw a few reports that mentioned the civil unrest in relation to austerity measures and taxation, or an increase in bus fares.
However, the Brazilian citizens involved in the protests paint a widely divergent picture of corrupt politicians, unfair taxation, and exploitation of Brazilian citizens, coffers, and resources. Despite having a relatively high tax rate, Brazilian communities have witnessed a sharp decrease in public services and infrastructure since construction began for the two events. Socioeconomic disparity is highly visible, particularly in those areas that will host World Cup and Olympic events- these cities are filled with shantytowns inhabited by construction and other workers. Citizens living in other areas of the country have seen public funds and resources diverted away from police protection, infrastructure upkeep, and the maintenance of public spaces.
The feel-good capacity of such global events can make it easy to become blinded to the hidden costs of such large scale operations. You've raised a valid and salient point, and one that we should take into consideration in the future as well.
The World Cup, one of the largest sports spectacles in the world, was selected to hosted by the soccer-loving nation of Brazil. After this announcement, soccer fans around the country were elated with anticipation of participating, hosting, and watching this world wide sports phenomenon. However, this celebration was short lived when the citizens of this country realized the financial implications of hosting such an event. The official slogan of "Juntos num só ritmo" (All in one rhythm) was replaced by much of the community with "Nos não precisamos da Copa do Mundo" (we don't need the World Cup)(1). This change of heart is a result of the public outcry to reconsider the budget priorities and focus on issues surrounding health, education and employment. The Brazilian economy has slowed and is growing at slower rates than many other Latin American countries. As a result, there has been limited public funding for improving infrastructure, reforming the health care system, and improving education in the country. However, a combination of private and public funding has been able to accumulate over $3 billion for projects related to the tournament (1). Government representative have cited that there will be an increased revenue from the tournament that will near $52 billion over the next two years (2). Although this tournament may serve as a long term stimulus for the economy, the resulting preparation is postponing or ignoring current public issues. Additionally, there is major concern for governmental corruption and fear that much of this economic stimulus will never been seen by the public. As a result of this major project, we have seen outbreaks of structural violence including riots, protests, and an outbreak in crime (2). Similar to other projects we have discussed in class, the government choices for potential future benefits often ignore the current problematic issues incurred by certain populations in the country. It is important that these populations are heard and their well-being is taken into consideration when making important decision like allocation of public funding.
ReplyDelete1.Waldronon, Travis. ‘We Don’t Need The World Cup’: Brazil Erupts In Protests Against Cost Of 2014 Tournament. June 17, 2013 http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/06/17/2165721/brazil-world-cup-protests/
2.Panja, Tariq & Biller, David. Brazil Riots Threaten World Cup as Nation Prepares for Games. Bloomber.com Oct 23, 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-23/brazil-world-cup-disruption-seen-outcome-of-rio-violent-protests.html
I enjoyed reading this and getting the behind the scenes look at the Olympics and how unheroic they seem to be. I never thought about what it would entail to build the Olympic stadiums. It is disheartening to see how countries are thinking about turning down the honor of hosting the Olympics. I knew a lot of work went into preparing and hosting the games with the chance of economy stimulation with all of the tourism, merchandise, and local business readily available. The low ball wages is juvenile on the part of the country, public committees and Olympic committees. Without workers to build the stadiums at new venues there would be no games. These kinds of events and petty attempts at profits make me think that the idea of humanity still has not been instilled in many people across the globe.
ReplyDeleteI must say this was very interesting and enlightening. I don't remember hearing anything like this when China was hosting the summer Olympics. In fact, as vpleasant mentioned, you can see the pictures of what's left over and it's just crazy. The structures are degrading so quickly and nothing is being taken care of because it's simply too expensive. Anyway, I think the point that wherever economic opportunities are, there are opportunities for exploitation is important. However, typically it's the government who should be preventing this. If not, such as in this case, perhaps it should be noted by the global community and result in not allowing Russia host any Olympic games in the foreseeable future.
ReplyDelete