Statement from your SMSU Presidents on the Qatar World Cup
The World Cup in Qatar begun on Sunday 13th November and SMSU has been screening some of the matches in the SU Lounge, providing a space for our students to come together to watch the games.
We feel that providing this space is important to our students, so that they have somewhere safe and welcoming to watch the World Cup.
However, we recognise that screening the tournament is controversial given the socio-political contexts that Qatar is operating within.
We condemn the significant and numerous allegations of human rights abuses and treatment of some minority groups in the country, as well as the reported conditions of the workforce employed on the project in Qatar. These views and actions are damaging, hurtful, are against the values of SMSU and we stand with all those affected.
It is important to us that we are able to create a safe and welcoming environment for students to watch the World Cup and we invite the Simmie community to come and watch teams compete in the SMSU Lounge throughout the tournament.
We also encourage you to educate yourself on what has been going on in Qatar from a trusted news source or organisations such as Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International.
If you have any concerns, please do reach out to us either by DMing us @stmaryssu on Instagram or emailing us at smsu@stmarys.ac.uk
Caitlin & George (SMSU Presidents, 2022-23)
