The Winter Olympics are back and this year the marvelous event will be held in Sochi, Russia. This year’s games have already begun setting records before the athletes have even arrived. According to Time World, "The Sochi Olympics are the most expensive in history with an estimated $50 billion price tag.”
It’s true that the Russian government has spared no expense on this year’s games, having thrown bundles of money into state-of-the art-sports venues and infrastructure. But while excitement has grown over the extravagant Russian-hosted Olympics, that hasn’t been the only publicity they’ve gotten. The games have been receiving bad publicity for their anti gay laws, harsh treatment of residents and abuse of workers that helped build the glamorous site.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an anti-gay law in July that bans pro-gay "propaganda" to minors that sparked major criticism from both athletes and political figures worldwide. The new legislation is seen by many, as forbidding public expression of homosexual behavior.
Other negative publicity of the upcoming games came from migrant worker treatment. Many migrant workers on site have reportedly received harsh treatment and exploitation. Workers have been forced to work extremely long and exhausting hours, according to reports, sometimes working 12 hours a day with only one day off a month and without getting paid full wages. According to www.csem.org "Workers consistently reported that employers failed to pay full wages and in some cases failed to pay workers at all."
Not only have the workers been abused by the Russian government but the people of Sochi as well. Many families living in and around the Olympic construction site have been forced out of their homes in order to make way for new upscale Olympic venues. “The 2014 Winter Olympic Games are tarnished by this needless human suffering,” Jane Buchanan, a senior researcher said.
While the Russian games have been in the headlines recent weeks for money spent, harsh treatment of workers, locals and gays, hopefully in the next few weeks we’ll see a more publicity on the Olympic athletes.