The sun-struck workers, who are bone-weary, hide from the mid-afternoon sun by hiding in shaded alleys or stretching across cars at the gates.
They revert to cardboard strips as sidewalk naps, and they sink back on them. They scrub away all the sandy sweat that has accumulated over long hours spent beautifying this complex city.
They made it a World Cup host. But, these wealthy sheikhs, who allegedly purchased the World Cup, are virtually invisible.
Over the past 12 years, millions of migrants from some of the poorest countries on Earth have arrived and left to allow a show that will begin Sunday.
They came from Nepal to work as construction workers, Uganda to work as a transport worker, Kenya to work as a security officer
India to shop for groceries, and from Uganda to work on construction. They have been systemically used by a country which could pay them endlessly but in reality only pays very little.
They represent 89% of Qatar's population. Their support is what allows this World Cup to happen. They built the metro and its interconnected highways
The banners, flags, signs and signage they installed have brought life to otherwise monochromatic suburbs. There are still vacant lots around every corner
The truth is that beneath the surface lies an extreme inequality that spotlights have revealed -- making this the most controversial World Cup.
The truth is that beneath the surface lies an extreme inequality that spotlights have revealed -- making this the most controversial World Cup.