In August 2022, I traveled to Nepal on assignment with Time Magazine to document the health impacts of heat stress on workers in an increasingly hotter planet. Our team followed the flow of laborers from countries like Nepal to Qatar, ahead of the upcoming World Cup. 

Qatar’s 2 million foreign workforce makes up more than two-thirds of its population, with many workers originating from Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. 

Over the past decade, thousands have died due to poor working conditions and excessive heat. But due to intense international pressure and the hard work of activists, there's hope that conditions for workers in Qatar have improved. 

TIME released a documentary exploring this issue in depth. You can view the short film here.

At a time when the world’s attention will be focused on Qatar due to the World Cup, we must remember the millions of innocent folks from countries like Nepal, Egypt, Kenya, Thailand, and the Philippines, just to name a few, who in many cases paid a very high price for coming to this “promised land”.

This story would not have been possible without the support of the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, as well as the collaboration with Tom Laffay, Aryn Baker, Justine Simons, Katherine Pomerantz, Ramu Sapkota and Sweta Koirala.