Shelter for Abused Maids and Children

[Qatar4Ever]

Doha: Housemaids and children are to be accorded preferential treatment at the shelter the Interior Ministry has set up to rehabilitate victims of rights abuse.

The centre that has already begun operating from Sunday in the Old Airport locality, is set up by the human rights wing of the Interior Ministry and is open round-the-clock.

The scope of this home will be extended later to cover stranded male workers as well, an Interior Ministry source told The Peninsula yesterday.

Runaway maids who are victims of sexual abuse or physical assault will not only be provided free food and shelter, but also medical care and counselling by psychiatrists and other experts. "The idea is to ensure total rehabilitation of a victim."

However, only those victimised maids and children will be admitted to the centre who have been referred either by Qatar's National Human Rights Committee, the human rights wing of the interior ministry or other official agencies.

The ministry source defined other agencies as the courts, the police, public prosecution and the department of labour, among others.

"A victim who comes in directly without any reference from any of the above agencies, will not be entertained," he emphasised.

A police record of the case that is forwarded to the centre is a must.

A victimised maid, for instance, will be allowed to stay at the centre for as long as she needs medical care and counselling for rehabilitation and as long as her case is being heard by a court.

"After that she will be free to return to her home country or if she so wishes, can stay on in Qatar and take up any other job," said the ministry source.

"Her sponsorship will be changed without any hassle and we will also help her find a job. That won't be a problem at all," added the source.

[fortuneseeker]

hi qatar4ever! it's been a while since i last logged-in to read about interesting topics in this forum. i am sorry that i was not able to reply to your last message but this topic u brought up about shelter for the abused people caught my attention because i think it has something to do with my initial questions about safety in qatar. i know that anywhere in the world, there are potential dangers lurking around but i do hope it's not severe there in qatar. another concern of mine is the cost of living there, what do you think is the reasonable monthly income to support a descent way of life (food and clothing)? given the fact that housing will be provided by the employer. how about the education standard there? is it comparable to west?

thank you in advance qatar4ever and i'm glad you're always so willing to help..

[go mid east]

While abuse in the Gulf does take place, it is usually confined to domestic servants and other people who work at menial jobs throughout the region. Domestic servants, maids, drivers, and cooks, are all at times at the complete mercy of their hosts. They usually are not allowed freedoms like going outside without supervision, using the phone or internet, or the like. While many people who take these jobs realize their situations, many of them also have pleasant stays in their host countries.

Unfortunately, cases of abuse like this happen because of a feeling of superiority by the host, or the host country. Rights for domestic workers are very important issue in the Gulf. The Phillipine government recently issued statements against abuse and threatened to stop workers from going to the Gulf.

SO.... there is no clear answer, but abuse of any sort, especially one where there is an unfair advantage between one person and another, should be stopped. The question is: how?

Especially in a kingdom where many people don't have the right to speak out against abuse...?

Thoughts?

[Qatar4Ever]

hey man.. again if u want help start ur thread in qatars subforum and put in all ur question and we'll answer them..