Fact-Check: Old Video Passed Off as 'Indian Workers Being Sent Back From Qatar'

The video could be traced back to March, which precedes the comments made by BJP's Nupur Sharma on 26 May.

The claim states that Indian migrant workers are being sent back homes, after several nations condemned BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's disparaging remarks about Prophet Muhammed. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Video Editor: Harpal Rawat

A video which shows a huge crowd standing near parked buses is being shared on social media with a claim that Gulf countries are sending back Indian migrant workers in their countries.

This comes after several countries, including Gulf nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which consists of 56 member states, condemned the disparaging remarks made by Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammed on a primetime news debate on 26 May.

While the claim doesn't specifically mention a country, on viewing the video, we found that it was from Qatar and it was not linked to the recent controversy.

We could trace the video back to March 2022 and it showed a workers' strike at the Redco International in Qatar.

CLAIM

The video is being shared along with the claim in Hindi that reads, "अरब देशों मे मजदूरी/रोजगार/काम के लिए गए गैर मुस्लिम भारतीयों को #घर/रिटर्न भेजना सुरु कर दिया गया है."

(Translation: Migrant workers who were in Arab countries for work are being sent home.)

In the video, the man shooting the video can be heard saying, "People have gathered to take tickets. This is Redco International. There are over 7,000 people here."

An archive of the post can be seen here. 

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

More archived links can be seen here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

While carefully listening to the video, we could a man saying "Redco International".

On looking for the company, we found it was based out of Qatar.

Next, using this as a clue, we conducted a keyword search and found the same video published on a YouTube channel named 'QN Qatar'.

The YouTube shorts video titled, "Redco international company Qatar today give cricket workers", which was published on 29 march 2022.

The video was published on 29 March. 

(Source: YouTube/Screenshot)

We found another video from the same place on the channel. In one of the videos posted on 26 March, a man can be heard claiming that the company hasn't paid salaries.

In another video posted on 23 March, people can be seen raising slogans and taking out a protest march, and the location is written as 'Redco International, Doha, Qatar'.

Similarities between the two videos.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

While we have not been able to independently verify the reason behind the protest, as per the claims made in the video, the workers were protesting against non-payment of salaries.

Further, the video predates the controversy around Nupur Sharma's comment, which makes it clear that it can't be linked to it.

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