Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Sign In Sign Up

Labor Migration

Courts of Exclusion—Working-Class Masculinity and Anti-Afghan Racism in Iran
The poster for the 2016 documentary film “Overruled” by Farnaz and Mohammad Reza Jurabchian. The original title in Persian is “Eteraz Vared Nist.”Ismael Khodaei, seen in a still from the film.An Afghan broom maker in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Broom making (Jarubafi) is a profession predominantly taken up by Afghans in the city. Reza Heidari Shahbidak.
MER Article

Courts of Exclusion—Working-Class Masculinity and Anti-Afghan Racism in Iran

In 2016, Gol Agha, a ball boy and worker at a private tennis club in Tajrish—an affluent neighborhood in northern Tehran—went to an administrative office in Karaj to receive a headcount slip. There, Gol Agha was told by employees at the registration desk that the headcount slip could
Paniz Musawi Natanzi • 15 min read
The Politics of “Unskilled" Labor in Qatar—An Interview with Natasha Iskander
Workers inside the Lusail stadium, constructed for the 2022 World Cup, Doha, Qatar, 2019. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
MER Article

The Politics of “Unskilled" Labor in Qatar—An Interview with Natasha Iskander

With the approach of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Natasha Iskander speaks to Arang Keshavarzian about the politics of labor that underpin the tournament – and their devastating effects. From the deliberate framing of migrant workers as “unskilled” to the regulation of workers protests, minimal refor
Natasha Iskander, Arang Keshavarzian • 14 min read
Remembering Slavery at the Bin Jelmood House in Qatar
Inside the Bin Jelmood House museum, Doha, Qatar. Photo from the Bin Jelmood website.A wall panel at the Bin Jelmood House museum. Photo courtesy of the author.
MER Article

Remembering Slavery at the Bin Jelmood House in Qatar

Memories of enslavement are often silenced and yet suffuse everyday life in the Gulf. As governments across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries memorialize a maritime, pre-oil Indian Ocean past as part of their nation-building projects, the Bin Jelmood House—a museum in the heart of Doha—st
Nidhi Mahajan • 10 min read
Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship
An Indian worker sells Indian fritters to Emiratis during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the neighborhood of Al Quoz in Dubai, UAE, 2019. Satish Kumar/Reuters
MER Article

Who is “Indian” in the Gulf? Race, Labor and Citizenship

How do race and racism operate in the Gulf? Neha Vora and Amélie Le Renard closely examine how the term "Indian," as it is used in the United Arab Emirates, refers to much more than national origin. They trace the role of colonialism, capitalism and the state in creating "Indian" as a racialized cat
Neha Vora, Amélie Le Renard • 11 min read