Navin Sam

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

On the heels of an editorial cautioning Gulf governments about “cities of men,” an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University in the UAE highlights some of the unique mental health risks facing Qatar’s large blue-collar workforce. In this editorial, Dr. Justin Thomas also offers some ideas on how they can be addressed.

When it comes to mental health, Qatar is a step ahead of its Gulf peers in that it has developed a specific strategy to tackle the issue in the coming years.

But will this ambitious plan, now halfway into its implementation, be applied to the country’s hundreds of thousands of blue-collar expats, especially those industrious individuals living in labor camps who toil away for long hours at construction sites?

Previous research suggests that mental health problems are relatively common among the residents of such labor camps.

One study, published in the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health in 2011, reported that a quarter of participants – labor camp residents – had clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms.

More worrying still, 2.5 percent them reported having actually attempted suicide.

Unique stresses

Indeed, Qatar’s own strategy identified several risk factors for poor mental health that human rights advocates have identified within Qatar’s laborer workforce, including poverty, discrimination, low social status, dangerous work, low perceived power, isolation and outright abuse.

And researchers at Amnesty International have noted that migrant workers often face unique stresses, such as knowing family members back home are depending on them for financial support.

Chantelle D'mello

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

The organization’s staff has documented numerous cases of migrants in despair over labor-related issues, such as unpaid wages and an inability to leave Qatar and return home.

While there have been many calls to improve the living and working conditions of the country’s blue-collar expatriates through reforms of labor and sponsorship laws, it’s equally important to consider the psychological environments of their homes and workplaces.

Hard hats and boots protect heads and feet, but what protection do we offer hearts and minds? One could take a sprained wrist to the camp physician, but where is the professional with whom to discuss persistent sadness and irritability?

Providing culturally appropriate counseling and free access to mental health services for blue-collar expatriates would be humanitarian and progressive.

Fighting stigma

However, the provision of such services also needs to be accompanied by an ongoing commitment to de-stigmatize mental health issues, and protect people from discrimination related to their experiencing such problems.

One way to circumvent stigma and discrimination is to take a blanket approach to promoting mental health.

For example, it’s fairly common in the white-collar world to see corporate wellness programs. Such programs tend to speak of “emotional excellence” and “stress management,” rather than using stigmatized terms such as “mental illness.”

Navin Sam

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

How about emotional wellness and stress-management programs being routinely extended to “workers?” After all, it’s not only executives who experience stress. Such programs would be in addition to providing confidential and culturally appropriate counseling services.

Another consideration would be the provision of leisure time. It’s all very well providing some time off, but with a lack of meaningful leisure activities for those on low-incomes and without access to cars or reliable public transport, time off can become torture.

Leisure facilities and activities scheduled around the needs of the blue-collar expats would also help prevent the blue-collar blues.

Mental health officials in Qatar have said that they are committed to better understanding the unique stresses affecting different population groups, including migrant workers.

They’ve also said that services need to not only be provided in an institutional setting, but also delivered in the community.

Both are positive messages, and as Qatar works to hire more psychiatrists and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issue, we can only hope that its most vulnerable population is not left behind.

Thoughts?

(The post Opinion: Fighting the blue-collar blues in Qatar is from Doha News.)

Chantelle D'Mello

Reflect You Respect event at Villaggio Mall in 2014

A local campaign to promote modest dress in public places is entering its fourth summer with a new slogan, and an expanded focus that includes the clothing and behavior of Qataris as well as expats.

When the grassroots initiative to call attention to how people dress began in 2012, it was dubbed “One of Us.”

But the name was changed last year to “Reflect Your Respect,” based on feedback from some non-Qataris. Now, the campaign has returned with a new message: “You matter in Qatar.”

Previously, organizers increased their efforts during Ramadan, drawing attention to the clothing of non-Qatari tourists and residents, and advising them how to dress without offending local values and culture.

Leaflets showed pictograms of appropriate and offensive levels of dress and groups of mostly women and children visited shopping malls and parks, handing out literature, shawls and chocolates.

Though Qatar is a conservative Islamic country, the law does not define modest dress.

Article 57 of the Qatari constitution states that “abiding by public order and morality, observing national traditions and established customs is a duty of all who reside in the State of Qatar or enter its territory.”

However, the group behind the modesty campaign has said that women and men should cover at least their shoulders and knees, and not wear tight, revealing or provocative clothing.

This year’s events

Muhammad Kamran Qureshi/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

As the weather heats up and Ramadan approaches, volunteers will continue to circulate their message in malls, a spokeswoman for the group told Doha News.

Umm Abdullah added that members of the campaign have been trying to talk to Qataris in public places to reinforce the group’s message of modesty in all aspects of life.

This was in response to comments during previous campaigns that some expats felt they were being singled out while other behaviors in society were ignored, she said, continuing:

“Our campaign is not only about dress code. It is about supporting modesty in all behaviors in the state, for men and women.

Foreigners said to us: ‘why do you attack us, and Qataris are wearing perfume, heavy makeup, tight pants, high heels.’ We are addressing everyone. I speak to Qatari people too, telling them how to dress properly in public places like malls and hospitals,” she told Doha News.

The group has also revised its branding this year, in an effort to be more inclusive and to convey their message more positively, Umm Abdullah said.

Reflect Your Respect

Campaign T shirt

T-shirts, leaflets and literature have been designed with a heart symbol and show images in a circle, with the words: “You matter in Qatar: Respecting the customs and traditions of this country that welcomes all guests.”

“We are trying to make it more appealing to people from all countries. This year, we want to focus on advising people what they can wear, not so much what they can’t wear,” she added.

Volunteers from “Reflect Your Respect” have organized talks, workshops and seminars with children in local schools as well as with local international women’s groups in a bid to raise awareness of the issue of modest dress.

The group also held an event at Katara Opera House last Friday, which featured talks and short skits performed by some pupils from independent schools in Qatar regarding modest dress code and behavior.

الحملة الصامتة في الأمسية الثقافية #كتارا #أظهر_احترامك #المشروع_الاعلامي_للحفاظ_على_الهوية_القطرية pic.twitter.com/TOf4hVxWsz

— أظهر احترامك (@ryrqatar) May 3, 2015

Photos of the event show that Katara’s General Manager, Dr. Khalid Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, along with the Libyan Ambassador to Qatar Abdel Monsef Hafiz Albouri, attended the relaunch of the campaign.

But speaking to Doha News, Al Sulaiti said that while he did attend the start of the event “for a couple of minutes,” Katara was only providing a venue, and is not an official supporter or sponsor of the campaign.

د. خالد السليطي مدير عام #كتارا والسفير الليبي عبد المنصف البوري في أمسية "أنت غير في قطر الخير" بدار الأوبرا pic.twitter.com/Iusz3QOjCQ

— كتارا | Katara (@kataraqatar) May 1, 2015

Previously, there was talk of involving the Qatar Tourism Authority in the campaign, but the QTA has also said it is not an official supporter of the movement.

Dress code

Expats make up more than 85 percent of Qatar’s population, and the dress code debate has long been an ongoing source of tension here.

Just a few weeks ago, an altercation between a local woman and an expat family over dress was uploaded to YouTube, garnering 63,000 views and spurring Twitter discussion over what the appropriate way would have been to discuss the issue.

Passions are likely to heighten as the temperatures soar and as Ramadan begins in mid-June this year.

Still, Umm Abdullah said that she is hopeful the campaign will mend divisions between groups in Qatar:

“People come here from different countries and cultures and many of them do not know what they should be wearing here in Qatar.

A clash of cultures affects all sides and we don’t want this. We want to reach a middle line – we don’t want two groups with one covered top-to-toe and another not covering at all. We know many of the people who come here are not Muslims, and we are not asking them to cover up but just dress respectfully,” she added.

Thoughts?

(The post Modest dress campaign revived with new ‘You matter in Qatar’ slogan is from Doha News.)

David Holt/Flickr

Southwark Crown Court, London

A driver who tried to blackmail members of the Qatari royal family by threatening to share their private photographs if they didn’t pay him money has been sentenced to jail for more than four years by a London court.

In May 2013, Sudan-born Awad Abdulbagy, 49, had been hired to drive a private photographer working for members of the Qatari family around London during their visit to the UK.

After finding photographs of the family on a memory stick and camera left in his car, Abdulbagy threatened to send the pictures to a commercial television station or another Gulf state if he did not receive GBP600,000 (QR3.3 million) from the Qatar Embassy in London.

Embassy staff called police about the threat, and the driver and his wife Nasren Mohammed, 34, were arrested, according to the Press Association newswire.

Both were found guilty of blackmail at a trial held earlier this year at Southwark Crown Court in central London, where reporters were instructed not to name the victims.

Sentencing the defendants last Friday, Judge Anthony Pitt described their actions as “amateurish.”

‘Sensitive’ pictures

Although the pictures contained “nothing disgraceful,” they were private and “highly sensitive,” the judge added.

David Holt/Flickr

Southwark Crown Court, London

He ordered Abdulbagy to serve four-and-a-half years in prison, and handed his wife a two-year jail term.

However, that sentence will be suspended for two years – an “act of mercy” by the court because the couple has five young children, two of whom have disabilities, the judge added.

While Mohammed played a lesser role in the scheme, her sentence reflected her position as the “steel in the back” of her husband and her initiative as being the first of the couple to telephone the embassy, PA reported.

She apparently told embassy staff that they had found the pictures and said she wanted to claim a prize.

The judge said that while the couple had initially hoped to return the lost goods for a small “thank you,” they then began attempting to extort money.

In his sentencing, he said:

“I don’t know what they would have paid … but shortly after you turned to criminal threats as to how not just to get a small thank-you, but how to get a life-changing amount of money.

It was an opportunity that formed in your mind, and perhaps that of your wife as well, of gaining a large sum of money, a life-changing sum of money. A ransom, in effect, for the return of the items,” PA reported him as saying.

Blackmail demands

During the trial, Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Hajri testified that he spoke to the couple, who at first demanded GBP600,000, and then GBP300,000 (QR1.15 million) in return for the memory stick and camera.

Al-Hajri said they then sent him threatening messages in Arabic.

“The wording is very clear when he says ‘I’m not going to wait any longer’ – this is clear blackmail,” the Daily Mail reported him as saying in court.

Prosecutor Gareth Patterson said during the trial that Abdulbagy had repeatedly called and sent messages to the embassy demanding money. He was arrested after a third meeting at the mission in London’s Mayfair.

The missing items were found in his car, which had been parked at the nearby Dorchester Hotel.

Thoughts?

(The post UK court jails driver for attempted blackmail of prominent Qatari family is from Doha News.)

Penny Yi Wang

The 2013 opening of Grand Mall Hypermarket in what was then known as West End Park.

A popular retail and recreation complex near the Industrial Area that caters to Qatar’s low-income workforce has changed its name as it prepares to open several new amenities.

West End Park, which encompasses several cinemas, a cricket pitch, amphitheater and shopping centers including the Grand Mall Hypermarket, will now be known as “Asian Town,” according to the property manager.

A spokesperson for Ibin Ajayan Projects told Doha News that “Asian Town” was the original name given to the development when the government commissioned its construction. He also said the label reflects the customers the company wants to attract.

The spokesperson, who asked not to be named, added that Asian Town is meant to provide affordable amenities and services to the country’s low-income workforce close to where they live.

“Laborers are the most important part of (achieving) Qatar’s vision,” he said. “They are the manpower. Qatar (constructs developments such as Asian Town) as an appreciation for them.”

Peter Kovessy

Barwa Al Baraha

In addition to that development, the Industrial Area is home to Barwa Al Baraha, a “Workers’ City” project aimed at providing quality housing to construction workers in Qatar.

However, both developments are located far from central Doha, and their construction was initiated alongside other efforts to push blue-collar workers out of established residential areas and shopping malls.

These have included “family only” days at some retail centers and a ban on male laborers living in some centrally located neighborhoods.

New developments

Thousands of people turned up in October 2013 to celebrate the opening of the first phase of what was then known as West End Park.

Penny Yi Wang

Grand Mall opening

While the Ibin Ajayan Projects spokesperson said he didn’t have precise visitor numbers on hand, he estimated that some 5,000 people pass through the complex on a typical day. That figure goes up to 12,000 on weekends and for special events.

He said the development is popular with families as well as expat men.

The project’s build-out has continued and will soon include a new plaza-style mall with 240 shops selling clothing, glasses and coffee at prices meant to be affordable to low-income shoppers, the spokesperson said.

He added that the first stores in the new mall would open as part of a soft launch later this month.

Chantelle D'mello

West End Park Cinema

Next week, a third cinema is set to start screening films and will be joined by a fourth cinema by early June, the spokesperson said.

The theaters charge a relatively low QR20 per ticket and focus on Hindi and Tamil movies aimed at Qatar’s large Indian population.

International films – such as the popular Fast & Furious 7, which the spokesperson said would be screened later this month – are also shown.

Separately, an outlet mall with some 170 stores is also expected to open in the complex later this year.

Despite mandating that retailers charge comparatively low prices, the spokesperson said there’s been no challenges finding retail tenants since Asian Town’s proximity to the Industrial Area all but guarantees a steady stream of customers.

Chantelle D'mello

National Sports Day

The developer also works to increase the number of visitors through special events such as celebrations last Friday that saw performances by singers from India, Nepal and the Philippines in addition to cultural dances and sporting events.

It’s also a popular venue for events that cater to the south Asian community, such as National Day celebrations and National Sports Day activities.

“Our vision is to make it a destination for shopping and for dinner for the laborer community,” the spokesperson said.

Thoughts?

(The post More shops and cinemas coming to renamed ‘Asian Town’ in Qatar is from Doha News.)

Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau / Flickr

Fenway Park in Boston

Qatar Airways is planning to launch new flights to several American cities in the coming year, despite ongoing efforts by US carriers to limit access to their home market over what they call unfair business practices.

In an announcement today, the national carrier said it would add new daily flights from Doha to three additional cities, bringing the total number of US routes to 10.

Flights to Los Angeles will commence on Jan. 1, 2016 using a Boeing 777; service to Boston will start March 16, 2016 using the carrier’s new Airbus A350 XWB planes; and the first Qatar Airways flight to Atlanta will be July 1, 2016 on a Boeing 777.

Airbus

A350

Additionally, the state-owned carrier said it is adding a second daily flight to New York City using an Airbus A350 XWB.

The additional flight options are likely welcome news to Qatar residents traveling to the US. But the expansion appears to be aimed more at attracting the transit passenger market. In a statement, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said:

“As Qatar Airways continues its global expansion, we are delighted to be offering even more gateways in the United States, connecting passengers from destinations across the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Southeast Asia.”

Falling out with US carriers

Over the past few years, the positioning of Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi as hubs for transiting passengers flying beyond those cities has drawn the ire of legacy carriers in Europe and North America, many of whom have seen their market share eroded at the hands of the big Gulf airlines.

Mike Mozart/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

The war of words escalated recently when American critics of Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad accused the Gulf trio of receiving government subsidies and other forms of state support, which apparently help them undercut the fares of so-called legacy carriers.

Earlier this year, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines argued that this violates the spirit of the Open Skies Agreement that the US has signed with dozens of countries, including Qatar and the UAE. That deal allows airlines – rather than government regulators – to determine the frequency and capacity of flights.

In the case of Qatar Airways, those state subsidies are alleged to have added up to more than US$16.5 billion since 2004 and include interest-free loans that were ultimately forgiven, free land and airport fee exemptions.

For his part, Al Baker hasn’t denied that Qatar Airways received money from the government, but characterized it as injecting “equity into an airline which it owns.”

Investigation

In a sign that the US carriers’ complaint could cause turbulence for the Gulf airlines, more than 260 members of the US House of Representatives signed a letter last week calling on the Obama administration to investigate the allegations.

Qatar Airways/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Reuters reports the US airlines are pushing for a temporary freeze of the Gulf carriers’ American expansion plans and that the Obama administration has said it would start reviewing the issue by the end of this month.

This has reportedly led the US airlines to accuse the Gulf carriers of taking advantage of the waiting period. Prior to today’s Qatar Airways announcement, Emirates said it was adding new flights to Orlando, Boston and Seattle.

A Qatar Airways spokesperson declined to comment on suggestions that the carrier was announcing its new routes – one of which won’t enter operation for more than a year – to get ahead of possible restrictions on new flights.

The spokesperson said the airline plans to hold a press conference Thursday at the Arabian Travel Market convention and trade show in Dubai.

Thoughts?

(The post Qatar Airways to add Boston, Atlanta and LA routes amid US subsidy spat is from Doha News.)

Chantelle D'mello

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

In the latest update on much-awaited changes to the nation’s kafala sponsorship system, Qatar’s labor minister has said he is “hopeful” that reforms pledged a year ago will be implemented by the end of December.

Minister for Labor and Social Affairs Dr. Abdullah bin Saleh Al Khulaifi made the remarks while speaking to foreign media on a state-organized tour of the country this week. AFP quotes him as saying:

“I hope it will be prior to the year end. We discussed it, our stakeholders have looked at it… Now it is on track. I am 90 percent hopeful or believe that it will be (brought in before the year end).”

“It is not I who says it. It is our vision, our strategy… The new Qatar will no longer be having the kafala system. It will all be contractual agreements between employees and employer.

“We are not hiding from our problems here in Qatar, we are facing them,” Al Khulaifi added.

One year on

The official’s comments come nearly one year after authorities pledged speedy reform of kafala, saying the law would be changed to make it easier for expats to change jobs and leave the country in a press conference on May 14, 2014.

Last July, the labor minister said that the new system would come into place “as quickly as possible.”

However, the reforms still had to be discussed by Qatar’s business community, which appeared to give the green light in October last year when Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce said it would support the new system, as long as the law protected the interests of both the workers and the business owners.

Muhammad Kamran Qureshi/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

The minister’s latest statement on the implementation of the reforms would appear to be progress on his position in March this year, when he warned that there was no set timetable for when the changes would become law.

The reforms are still waiting be approved by the state’s Advisory ((Shura) Council, before the Emir signs them into law.

Initially described as “abolishing” kafala, the announced reforms fell short of that promise, and did not propose to get rid of the system of exit permits and no-objection certificates.

A foreigner’s sponsor would still be able to apply to block an expat from leaving the country, and those who sign an open-ended contract would have to work in Qatar for five years before being able to freely change jobs.

Many international rights groups have condemned the sponsorship system, saying it enables an employer to wield too much control over an expat’s living and working situation in Qatar, contributing to abuses of power and exploitation of workers.

Speaking to AFP, Amnesty International researcher Mustafa Qadri said of the proposed changes:

“It’s another form of kafala with a different name, admittedly less restrictive but with many of the same problems.”

He added that the promised new rules still amounted to “forced labor,” as the employee cannot leave the country without permission from his employer.

Even if minor kafala & exit permit reforms implementd employers will still have balance of power over migrant workers, risk of abuse remains

— Mustafa Qadri (@Mustafa_Qadri) May 5, 2015

So far, the only change that has been enacted from the list of reforms pledged last year is the Wage Protection System, which requires all employers to pay their staff by direct bank transfer and aims to tackle workers’ persistent complaints of late on non-payment of their wages.

First announced in July last year, the law was signed by the Emir in February and will be enforced starting in August. Employers in violation of the amendment could face jail time of up to one month and fines of QR2,000 to QR6,000.

Housing

The state of the accommodation often used to house migrant workers during their time in Qatar has also been criticized for being cramped, unsanitary and overcrowded.

Speaking with reporters this week, the labor minister admitted that these conditions are a “major problem.”

AP quotes Al Khulaifi as saying:

“Our delay nationally of accommodating properly such a population I think (was) a mistake that we are trying to remedy now. Current substandard labor accommodations are unacceptable.”

The official added that more spot-checks are being conducted on company accommodation, while the number of inspectors has almost doubled to 294 from 150 two years ago. A further 100 are being hired as part of “an ongoing, continuous project to upgrade our inspectors,” he said.

Omar Chatriwala/Flickr

Barwa Al Baraha

A number of organizations in Qatar have rules about workers’ accommodation. Both Qatar Foundation and Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – which is overseeing the construction of Qatar’s World Cup stadiums and training facilities – have workers’ charters.

In addition to requiring companies to pay for overtime and eschew the use of recruiters who charge worker fees, QF’s charter sets out minimum housing standards. This includes a maximum of four beds per room, allocating six square meters per resident as well as providing recreation areas.

Among the residential projects planned for lower-income workers is the $1 billion Barwa Al Baraha project, which aims to accommodate more than 50,000 migrants with other facilities including shops, a mosque, sports fields, used car showrooms and office space.

Thoughts?

(The post Labor minister ’90 percent sure’ Qatar will see kafala reform in 2015 is from Doha News.)

In its latest animated public service announcement, the Ministry of Interior has warned commuters to stop taking advantage of ambulances as they try to make their way through Qatar’s congested roads.

Motorists should move their cars to clear a path for emergency vehicles, but leave it at that, the MOI states on Facebook, adding:

“Some are trying to be ‘over-smart’ by following the emergency vehicle to escape from traffic queues. It’s totally unacceptable behavior and it will further create traffic chaos while it violate rights of other road users.”

The advice has gotten more than 2,100 hundred shares since it was posted yesterday, with some commenters calling for violators to be fined.

However, taking advantage of the clear path created by an emergency vehicle does not appear to be against the law.

Challenges

With thousands of cars being added to Qatar’s overcrowded roads each month, emergency vehicles here increasingly struggle to get through traffic, especially during rush hour times.

HMC/Facebook

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Qatar’s public works authority has been tackling this problem by installing technology in traffic signals around Doha that allows them to be changed from red to green by first responders as they approach the intersection.

Another challenge facing ambulances here – and hospital emergency departments – is that the vast majority of calls placed to 999 do not involve life-threatening situations.

Late last year, a senior Ministry of Interior official said that only 10 percent of the calls received on the emergency line merit immediate, urgent care.

This is in part because of calls from children, but also because many expats cannot afford to seek treatment at the country’s private clinics and hospitals, one long-time emergency room doctor in Qatar said.

Thoughts?

(The post VIDEO: Make way for emergency vehicles in Qatar, but don’t follow them is from Doha News.)

Peter Kovessy

One of the new Toyota Innova airport cabs operated by Cars Taxi.

As Qatar’s newest taxi company pushes to expand its Doha fleet, managers there have said they hope to address the seemingly endless cycle of customer complaints about cab drivers by treating their employees better.

Residents here frequently lament rude taxi drivers who overcharge or refuse certain customers. In response, many drivers counter that they are underpaid and are forced to cheat passengers to eke out a living.

This stems in part from the compensation structure for many of Qatar’s taxi drivers, who must pay their employer a daily car rental rate in excess of QR200. With Doha’s worsening traffic jams, some drivers have said it is difficult to do much more than recoup that sum on a typical 11-hour shift.

Speaking on the sidelines of a press event this week, P Balasubramaniam, group director of Profit Group, which operates the Cars Taxi franchise, told Doha News:

“The company is as good as the drivers it has. (We tell drivers), ‘You are ambassadors for Qatar. So you have to promote the country and ensure the cars are clean, you are well-dressed, know all the destinations and if they ask you about other destinations, talk to them.’”

Cars Taxi made its debut in Doha last September with drivers paid on a salary system and currently has approximately 340 vehicles in its fleet, Balasubramaniam said.

He expects that number to grow to 500 taxis – the maximum permitted under the company’s current license – by the end of June. However, Balasubramaniam added that his firm would like to have a much larger local presence:

“The minute we (reach 500), we will (contact) Mowasalat to see if they will grant us permission to add more. We have the capacity to easily go up to 1,000 cars immediately. The facilities are all available.”

Ramy Khalaf

For illustrative purposes only.

There are four other taxi brands in Qatar: maroon-roofed Al Million, dark gray-roofed Capital Taxis, blue-roofed Al Ijarah, as well as some 1,200 light gray-roofed cars run by state-backed Mowasalat, which has said it wants to get out of the business of operating taxis and focus solely on its role regulating the industry by 2017.

Before then, the operator hopes to add two more franchise companies and, presumably, expand business possibilities for existing taxi firms.

“I’m sure (Mowasalat) will look at which companies are operating well and give us more opportunities in the state of Qatar,” Balasubramaniam said.

Airport dispute

Balasubramaniam spoke to Doha News Monday at a press conference to announce that Cars Taxi would operate 20 new seven-seater Toyota Innova taxis at the airport.

Ramy Khalaf

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

He said the vehicles would be part of the general airport taxi queue, but could be dispatched to pick up a large group of travelers upon request.

The addition of the Cars Taxi vehicles would reportedly bring the total number of airport cabs to 320.

Hamad International Airport was the scene of a labor dispute earlier this year involving drivers from other taxi companies who said they already received a salary.

In January, several airport drivers staged a limited two-day strike after being promised a raise that never materialized.

One driver who spoke to Doha News earlier this year said his pay amounts to roughly QR1,200 after deductions for accommodations, water and electricity, but that his take-home pay is typically much less due to unexplained penalties for alleged traffic violations or vehicle damage.

Omar Chatriwala/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

He said airport drivers could theoretically earn more if they bring in a great deal of revenue under a commission system, but added that this rarely happens.

Balasubramaniam said Cars Taxi drivers also pays its drivers slightly more than QR1,000 a month, but said the bonus system is achievable. He said five drivers were given awards yesterday morning for all recently clearing QR5,500 in take-home earnings in a single month.

When asked about recent labor unrest among taxi drivers, Balasubramaniam said the company takes several steps to boost employee morale. This includes ensuring that drivers have access to medical services and can communicate with family members back home.

Additionally, the drivers’ earnings are reported daily so they know how much they are making in commissions.

“Transparency is very important,” he said.

Balasubramaniam added that the company also engages in one-off efforts, such as arranging for four Nepalese drivers whose families were affected by last month’s earthquake to fly to an Indian airport close to the Nepal border.

Collectively, he said this has resulted in a high employee retention rate. While Balasubramaniam was not able to provide an exact figure, he said he does not know a case of a Cars Taxi driver quitting over a compensation-related dispute.

Thoughts?

(The post New Qatar taxi firms pledge to tackle customer service woes is from Doha News.)

Antony Satheesh/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Companies in Qatar appear to be among the most optimistic about their prospects in 2015 than firms in any other Gulf country.

Despite the fall in global oil prices, which has forced many companies in the energy sector to lay off staff or instigate recruitment freezes, Qatar businesses are collectively continuing to expand, saying they plan to hire more staff while raising salaries in an effort to complete the country’s many construction projects on time.

According to the latest edition of the annual “Employment and Salary Trends in the Gulf” report by online recruitment site GulfTalent, two-thirds (66 percent) of employers surveyed in Qatar said they planned to increase their head count in 2015.

photologue_np/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

This is the highest rate in the region, and some way ahead of Saudi Arabia, where just over half (53 percent) of employers said they plan to hire.

The comparable figures for other Gulf states were 49 percent in Oman, 47 percent in the UAE and 38 percent in both Kuwait and Bahrain.

According to GulfTalent, the hiring boom in Qatar was spurred after “the uncertainty over the World Cup (was) finally removed and major infrastructure projects (got) the go-ahead.”

Last year, the report said Qatar witnessed a slowdown in recruitment due to negative international media coverage of the country’s 2022 World Cup preparations and “internal pending reviews on the awarding of the projects.”

During 2014, Qatar’s employment growth rate appeared to be among the region’s lowest, with just 38 percent of recruiters in the state saying they were hiring. Only Bahrain was lower, at 22 percent, while nearly three-quarters of Saudi employers (72 percent) said they planned to bring in new talent that year.

Poor retention

GulfTalent

GulfTalent report 2015

The GulfTalent report results are based on a survey of 22,000 professionals employed by large and medium-sized firms in the GCC, as well as a survey of 600 HR managers and interviews with managers in local and international firms in the private sector. These were conducted between December 2014 and April 2015.

Its findings also include statistics from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Although Qatar is the second-most popular Gulf country for expats to work in after the UAE, it has one of the region’s lowest retention rates. This is because “the high cost of living and the ban on expatriates switching jobs prompt many to leave,” the report stated.

Figures from 2014 show that fewer than half (48 percent) of expats surveyed said they wanted to continue working in the state, compared to 88 percent of those working in the UAE and 61 percent in Kuwait. Only Oman had a worse rate than Qatar, with less than one-third (30 percent) stating they intended to remain in the country.

More money

While salaries across the region are predicted to increase this year, Qatar has the highest average forecast rises in pay of all states, at 8.3 percent.

GulfTalent

GulfTalent 2015 report excerpt

The report attributes this to Qatar’s “rising cost of living and the need to attract talent to the country.”

While the overall cost of living in Qatar has remained relatively stable for the first few months of this year, the cost of renting residential accommodation here continues to rise at a rapid clip.

According to figures published by the Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics (MDPS), the cost of rents, fuel and energy went up by 7.3 percent last year.

In February this year, housing, water and electricity, which makes up the largest share of most household’s expenses, went up 0.74-percent on the previous month. If rent keeps going up at the same pace for the rest of the year, tenants would face an 8.8 percent annual rise in accommodation costs.

Oman has the next highest expected pay increase of 7.2 percent, although this is driven by an increasingly unionized workforce that is demanding wage hikes, the report stated.

Across the Gulf, those working in the construction sector are likely to see the biggest bump to their wages this year, with increases forecast at 10 percent regionally, while those in logistics can expect raises of around 7.7 percent.

The oil and gas sector is at the bottom of the table in terms of pay increases, with the regional average expected to be 5.4 percent, according to the survey.

Fewer Indians

Meanwhile, the new report also found that rapid economic growth in India will likely prompt fewer nationals from there to look for jobs in the Gulf this year.

Higher salaries and more job opportunities back home mean that emigrating to the Gulf holds less appeal for some Indians, as they seek employment in their own country, the report stated.

Indians account for the largest demographic group in Qatar, which is home to some 631,000 of the country’s nationals.

The two countries have a long and evolving relationship. During the Emir’s first recent state visit to India for example, opportunities for foreign investment and trade was one of the topics of discussion.

Thoughts?

(The post Report: Qatar employers set to hire more staff and raise pay in 2015 is from Doha News.)

Monica A Belohuby/Flickr

Photo of Industrial Area for illustrative purposes only.

In a rare case of a foreign journalist being detained by Qatar police, a German reporter has said he and several colleagues were recently arrested by security forces while filming in the Industrial Area and taken in custody for 14 hours.

Florian Bauer, who covers sports politics for German broadcasters WDR and ARD, was on his fourth trip to Qatar in late March when he was detained.

He spoke publicly about the incident for the first time on Monday, the same day he aired his footage on migrant worker conditions in Qatar, as well as his documentary The selling of football: Sepp Blatter and the power of FIFA.

Video still

Florian Bauer

In an interview with Doha News, Bauer said the German embassy’s intervention ensured his swift release from custody. But he added that officials hinted he would be unable to leave the country until their investigation was complete.

He was allowed to depart Qatar five days later, he said.

However, it took more than three weeks for his cellphone, laptop and external hard drive to be returned to him in Germany. His laptop had been damaged and the electronic devices had their memory wiped clean, he said.

“A lot of the authorities are aware of my stories in recent years. If they’ve seen them, they know that I’ve reported quite balanced,” he said. “I’m a little bit embarrassed at how this happened because it has never happened (to me) before … This detention was never expected.”

No permit

Bauer said he first visited Qatar as a journalist in 2010, ahead of the country winning hosting rights to the 2022 World Cup. He was also in the country last May when local officials proposed changes to Qatar’s controversial kafala sponsorship system.

As the one-year anniversary of that announcement approached, Bauer told Doha News that he began to plan a trip back to Qatar to see what’s changed.

Alain Bachellie/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Six weeks before he departed, Bauer said he started to request interviews directly with several senior government officials. He said he also applied for a filming permit, which he had been granted on his previous visit.

He said that despite repeated efforts, he received no response, but elected to travel to Qatar anyway and arrived on Friday, March 27. It is not clear how Bauer’s crew was able to clear customs with their film equipment, which usually requires a permit.

That day, Bauer and his colleagues traveled to the Industrial Area and spent some four to five hours filming, selecting a labor camp at random to interview expat workers.

Inside, he said he found a scene similar to what’s frequently been documented by human rights advocates: overcrowded living quarters with a dozen or more men sharing a room, cramped and dirty kitchens and migrant workers who said they were not being paid, or being paid less than they were promised.

Bauer said he did not feel he was being monitored. However, he added at one point a supervisor at the camp said he “needed to call someone.” In retrospect, Bauer speculated that he may have been calling the police.

Arrest

Afterwards, the German television crew went to a nearby vacant lot around the corner to film a large group of men playing football. As they were shooting, a white sedan approached. Several men wearing white robes got out and quietly identified themselves as police and asked the journalists to put down their camera.

Tommaso / Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

At this point, Bauer said he walked over to his cameraman and placed the recorded footage into his pocket.

Bauer, along with his cameraman, camera assistant and driver, were all taken to a detention center in the Industrial Area where he said he was able to call the German embassy and his employer before his phone was taken away.

Bauer said he was eventually taken to the public prosecutor’s office in West Bay where he was briefly jailed before being interviewed by a prosecutor. He said he explained his efforts to obtain a filming permit and interviews with government officials, and was ultimately released without being charged, 14 hours after being arrested.

Release

However, he said officials implied to him that he would be unable to immediately leave Qatar because it would take weeks to remove the travel ban that had been instituted following his arrest.

During this time, he said he was visited by Qatar state media authorities who apologized for his ordeal and offered to pay for his hotel room and flight home, which Bauer said he declined.

The offer is similar to one made to another German filmmaker, Peter Giesel, who entered Qatar with a cameraman on a tourist visa in October 2013 and was subsequently arrested after speaking with workers near the Nepali embassy.

Giesel told the Guardian that they were released after spending 21 hours in jail and picked up by representatives of Qatar News Agency, who invited them to visit the country again.

Bauer said he was eventually told he could leave the country and departed the morning of April 2.

Questions remain

During his ordeal, Bauer said he was never told why he was being detained. However, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy – which is overseeing the construction of Qatar’s World Cup stadiums – suggested in a statement that it was connected to Bauer lacking proper permission to shoot video:

“Any media outlet wishing to film in Qatar requires a film permit to do so, as is common in many countries. Any working journalist who has visited Qatar will be aware of this process and understand filming in specific locations without permission runs the risk of legal repercussions.”

Bauer said he doesn’t disagree with the SCDL’s statement, but added that he was never asked by police if he possessed a valid a filming permit. He said he voluntarily produced his shooting permit from last year, which started a short discussion on the subject.

WheelIdeas

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Apart from Bauer and Giesel, reports of foreign journalists being arrested in Qatar are rare. Dozens of reporters have visited the country in recent years, many of whom have subsequently published critical stories on migrant labor issues.

Bauer noted that many of these other journalists were print reporters who attract less attention than a full camera crew and don’t require a filming permit.

Meanwhile, human right organizations have gone so far as to praise Qatar for allowing advocates to conduct investigations, meet government officials and present their findings to journalists in Qatar unimpeded, unlike other Gulf nations.

One recent exception was the arrest of two British-Nepali human rights advocates last August.

GNRD

Ghimire Gundev and Krishna Upadhyaya of the Global Network for Rights and Development.

However, the unusual nature of their case – they said they were followed by plainclothes police officers for several days – prompted some to question if the men were targeted because of their employer, the Global Network for Rights and Development.

The organization appeared to have ties to the UAE, which was involved in a diplomatic dispute with Qatar at the time.

Nevertheless, one media advocacy organization said the 2013 case involving Giesel shows that Bauer’s recent arrest “is not an isolated case.”

In a statement released on Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders said it was “outraged” by the detention of Bauer and his colleagues, as well as the “arbitrary way the Qatari authorities behaved.”

“The government in Doha has to ensure that foreign journalists can investigate critical topics such as the situation of human rights in Qatar unhindered,” said Christian Mihr, the executive director of Reporters Without Borders’ German section.

As for Bauer, he said he wants the personal data that was erased from his electronic devices returned, as he suspects a copy was made by Qatar authorities.

He said he’d also like to return to Qatar, although he concedes he’s not sure if he is still able to enter the country.

“I’m not a reporter who (challenges) whether Qatar has a right to host the World Cup,” he said. “I’m a reporter who is trying to do balanced reporting. I never had any intention to write anything bad about the country. My journalistic approach is to simply write what is happening … I would have loved to have someone from the government in the story to get their perspective.”

Thoughts?

(The post German journalists detained in Qatar while filming in Industrial Area is from Doha News.)

Armando Torrealba/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

To protect “human values and the dignity of the nation,” the Indonesian government has announced that it will ban its nationals from working as domestic help in Qatar and 20 other countries in the Middle East.

Speaking on Monday, the country’s Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Muhammad Hanif Dhakiri cited the execution of two of its nationals in Saudi Arabia last month as one of the reasons for the new restrictions.

“The situation concerning our migrant workers, who were working as domestic helpers, has led to many problems such as those related to labor norms and human rights violation.

According to the law, the government has the right to stop the placement of migrant workers in particular countries if it is believed that their employment will degrade human values and the dignity of the nation,” Dhakiri is quoted by Indonesian state news agency Antara News as saying.

The ban is expected to come into effect in three months’ time, and is being imposed on any new workers applying for employment overseas. Indonesians already working abroad would not be affected.

The 21 countries covered by the ban are: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, South Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Jordan.

The minister said that “the hard policy” was being implemented in countries where the rights of employers outweigh labor policies and protections for the domestic worker.

“This culture often leads to migrant workers becoming highly dependent on their employers. It also weakens their position, their working condition and lives,” he added.

Permanent ban

The new ban appears to make permanent a moratorium that already existed on Indonesian women working in a number of states in the region. It was introduced in Saudi Arabia in June 2011, after an Indonesian national was beheaded there without informing Jakarta. The woman had admitted to killing her employer.

The temporary ban was also later extended to other countries including the UAE, Syria, Kuwait and Jordan.

In 2013, Indonesia also temporarily banned its citizens from working in Qatar as domestic helpers, saying it could not afford to assist the three to five women who were seeking shelter at the embassy daily who were fleeing abusive work environments.

Dimitris Papazimouris/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

A number of Gulf countries, including Qatar, have a sponsorship system in place that prevents an employee from leaving the country without their sponsor’s approval.

Almost a year ago, Qatar announced it would reform its kafala system, but the proposed changes stopped short of eradicating the exit permit requirement.

Earlier this week, the country’s Labor Minister said he “hoped” that the changes to the law would be made before the end of this year.

The Indonesian minister’s announcement echoes a similar statement made in February  by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who called for an end to his country sending women abroad to work as housemaids and nannies, although no timeline had been mentioned.

“I have given Manpower Minister a target to come up with a clear roadmap on when we can stop sending female domestic workers. We should have pride and dignity,” Widodo said at the time, according to a report in the Straits Times.

In an editorial, the Jakarta Post described the latest ban as “unrealistic” and warned that it would drive the emigration process underground, leaving Indonesian women even more open to exploitation.

“The minister rightly cited the vulnerability of women to abuse in the private space of employers, but it is the task of the state to facilitate the right of citizens to work while constantly working to improve their protection.

A moratorium would be the better option instead of banning people working anywhere. Labor agencies with decades of experience in the Middle East could easily continue to recruit workers illegally, making our migrant workers even more prone to abuse,” the newspaper said.

It added that a lack of opportunities back home drive many Indonesians to seek employment in the Middle East.

Indonesians in Qatar

Qatar is home to around 20,000 Indonesians working in domestic roles, Amnesty International said last year, citing 2010 census data.

Domestic workers are vulnerable in part because they are not protected under the country’s Labor Law. There is no legal restriction on the maximum number of days a week or hours each day they can work.

“The fact that Indonesia has taken the drastic step of enforcing this ban speaks to how desperate the situation is,” Amnesty research Mustafa Qadri told Doha News.

“The ban reflects how serious the situation has become for migrant labour in the Gulf. The GCC states must urgently address the chronic abuse and absence of labour law protections for (tens of thousands) of domestic workers who are especially vulnerable to physical, sexual and other (forms of) violence.”

Chantelle D'mello

Bruises on the victim.

Last month, the case of an Indonesian woman working in Qatar who was hospitalized for several days with injuries she said were inflicted by her employer drew outrage.

The 25-year-old woman told Doha News she fled her sponsor’s home after being beaten by the metal end of a hose. Numerous scars, abrasions and scabs were visible on the woman’s back, arms, shoulders, stomach and face. She said they were the result of nearly two years’ of abuse at the hands of her employer.

The woman was later discharged from Hamad Hospital, but her status in Qatar remains unconfirmed.

Women who flee abusive situations here risk being caught by police. Labeled as “runaways,” they are then locked up in detention centers for months at a time while they await deportation.

Amnesty International’s 2014 report “My sleep is my break,” details cases of physical, psychological and sometimes sexual abuse inflicted on domestic workers by expat and local sponsors in Qatar.

For years, Qatar and other Gulf countries have been considering introducing a unified domestic workers’ contract, which would have stipulated basic working rights for women employed as household help in all the signatory states.

During a meeting in November last year, it appeared that the single contract was close to coming into effect. However, labor ministry representatives from various states later back-tracked, reportedly saying they didn’t have the authority to introduce any binding changes.

Thoughts?

(The post Indonesia to stop nationals from taking domestic helper jobs in Qatar is from Doha News.)

Toronto International Film festival

The Prophet

It’s shaping up to be a busy weekend in Qatar, particularly for theater aficionados, fans of stand-up comedy and motor racing buffs. Here are our picks:

The Prophet premiere

A Doha Film Institute and Salma Hayek-backed animated production of Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran’s famous novel, The Prophet, will make its commercial debut this weekend in Qatar at Novo Cinemas at The Pearl-Qatar on Thursday, May 7.

The voice cast includes several famous Hollywood celebrities including Liam Neeson, Quvenzhané Wallis, John Krasinski, Frank Langella and Alfred Molina.

Academy Award-winning composer Gabriel Yared has scored the film, complemented by additional music from Damien Rice, Glen Hansard and Lisa Hannigan as well as a cello solo by Grammy winner Yo-Yo Ma. Tickets cost QR45 and QR60. For film timings, see here.

Chuckle Club

The Chuckle Club returns this weekend with a new monthly lineup of comedians at the Doha Marriott Hotel near the airport.

Avalon UK

Tiff Stevenson

The show will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, from 7:30pm onwards and feature British stand-up comedian, writer and actor Tiff Stevenson – who has appeared in The Office (UK) and The Apprentice.

Also performing is Gareth Richards, who was named the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer in 2010; and Nashville native Billy Wayne Davis. Tickets to the event cost QR130 and are available online here. Attendees are requested to bring their Qatar IDs to the event.

Down by the sea

Holly Clark/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

The Qatar National Library is hosting a nautical-themed children’s event on Thursday, May 7 from 4 to 6pm at the Education City Clubhouse.

The free event will feature storytelling, sea crafts, games and other activities geared at introducing children to the sea’s flora, fauna, wildlife as well as ways of protecting the marine environment.

Children ages four to 11 years old are welcome to attend the event with their families and friends.

Robin Hood in theater

One of England’s most famous outlaws takes to the stage at the Qatar National Theater for a one-night-only performance tonight (Wednesday) at 6pm.

The traditional tale of Robin Hood is reinvented in this South African production, which puts a modern spin on this popular story.

Tickets to the event cost QR80 and can be bought online here. For more information, call 5001-9251 or 4423-1280.

Anime and manga drawing workshop

MiauNinjari / Flickr

For illustrative purposes only.

Anime aficionados are welcome to attend an anime and manga drawing workshop today and tomorrow (May 6 and 7), from 4 to 7pm at Education City’s Tribe Bookstore.

The course, which costs QR650, teaches budding artists and anime-lovers how to color and draw characters in specific anime styles.

Participants will receive a set of nine Copic sketch markers, pens and anime drawings. For more information, contact Tribe at 4481-7196.

Sonja Park live in concert

Award-winning pianist and Steinway artist Sonja Park will perform tonight, May 6, at the St. Regis Doha.

Park will be accompanied by celebrated Egyptian cellist Hassan Moataz for a night of Scarlatti, Beethoven, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky and Piazzolla. Tickets to the event, which will be held at the Sarab Lounge from 7 to 9pm, cost between QR190 and QR395.

For more information and to purchase tickets, contact the hotel at 4446-0105.

Omid Djalili in Qatar

David Shankbone/Wikicommons

Omid Djalili

BBC comedian celebrity and actor Omid Djalili is in Qatar this weekend to entertain audiences with his award-winning brand of humor.

This will be the Doha debut of Iranian-British comedian, who has appeared in Gladiator, Notting Hill, Pirates of the Caribbean and Sex and the City 2.

The one-night-only show will be held tomorrow, May 7, at 7pm at the Qatar National Convention Center. Tickets to the event cost between QR200 and QR450 and can be bought online here.

National Street Drag Championship finals

Arabian Drag Racing League/Facebook

Arabian Drag Racing League

Experience homegrown fast and furious action by heading over to the Qatar Racing Club for the National Street Drag Championships finals.

High-performance cars, SUVs and motorcycles will compete in short races over the course of two days from 4pm to 9pm on May 7 and 8.

The event is free and open to the public, but interested attendees are requested to reserve a spot online.

Residents are also advised to bring along a pair of ear plugs. For more information and a full schedule, visit the event’s website here.

Bonus:

• Qatar Challenge Cup: For more fast-paced action and the opportunity to watch more than a dozen cars and 40 motorbikes compete, head to the final round of the Qatar Challenge Championship this weekend on May 7 and 8 at the Losail International Circuit. The event, an entry-level racing championship for amateur and rookie racing enthusiasts to compete at a national level, spans eight months, with seven races held intermittently from October to May. This event kicks off with practice sessions and qualifying rounds starting at 1:30pm on May 7. Warmups, followed by races, get underway on May 8 at 5pm. The event is free and open to the public. A detailed schedule is available online.
• Summer farmers’ markets: Enjoy one of the last opportunities to buy fresh, locally grown produce at Qatar’s three farmers markets. The markets, which are located in Al Mazrouah near Umm Salal, Al Khor, and Al Wakra are open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. New this week are square-shaped watermelons, which are purportedly easier to transport, and more than 32 types of local summer vegetables at discounted rates.

What are your plans this weekend? Thoughts?

(The post Eight things to do in Qatar this weekend (May 6-9) is from Doha News.)

All photos by Faizan Shakir

Hundreds of university students in Qatar celebrated the end of term paper deadlines, all-nighters and other school stresses last night during the Qatar Foundation Convocation for the Class of 2015.

The number of QF graduates has grown steadily since the first 122 students finished school in 2008. At 672, this year’s class once again broke the record in terms of being the largest.

CMUQ

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar graduation 2015

That’s a more than 20 percent increase in the number of grads from last year, when nine universities conferred degrees on 549 university students.

The graduates, who walked through a symbolic door last night as their names were called, hailed from:

• Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, College of Science and Engineering and the Translation and Interpreting Institute);
• Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar;
• Texas A&M University at Qatar;
• HEC Paris;
• Northwestern University in Qatar
• Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
• Georgetown University – School of Foreign Service in Qatar;
• University College London Qatar; and
• Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.

The convocation, which can be viewed here, also marked the 20th anniversary of QF’s inception.

His Highness the Father Amir as he presents a symbolic gift to Her Highness at #QFConvocation. #Qatar #Doha #QF20th pic.twitter.com/xoVGD8bxJJ

— Qatar Foundation (@QF) May 5, 2015

Speaking at the ceremony, Qatar’s former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, presented his wife Sheikha Moza, chairperson of QF, with a symbolic key, with QNA quoting him as saying:

“Our message has always been the renunciation of intolerance, and securing opportunities for all individuals and groups, so Qatar was and will always remain as a mecca for the oppressed, besides it is today a beacon of education and science…

And on the 20th anniversary of establishing Qatar Foundation, it is incumbent on me to extend my thanks, all thanks to Sheikha Moza who exerted great efforts to make our common dream come true. This dream has today become a reality that we could feel its results and witness its successes to achieve a bright future for our country with steady and confident strides.”

Congratulations, graduates! Thoughts?

(The post PHOTOS: Qatar Foundation’s Class of 2015 steps into the future is from Doha News.)

Chantelle D'mello

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

As pressure mounts on Qatar Airways to open up its books and counter claims that it receives unfair government assistance, the carrier’s chief executive has cautioned that the airline’s financial performance last year fell below expectations.

The national carrier’s thin margins mean passengers shouldn’t expect to see a reduction in base fares even though oil prices are falling, CEO Akbar Al Baker said at a press conference this week, according to Arabian Business.

Qatar Airways/Flickr

Akbar Al Baker during a press conference last year.

The statement takes a step back from a pledge Al Baker made in January to scrap the airline’s fuel surcharge. Currently, Qatar Airways website shows that the additional fee is still being levied on tickets.

Qatar Airways is owned by the state and does not disclose its financial results like publicly traded companies.

A year ago, officials said they planned to publish the airline’s 2013 profit figures, but that pledge does not appear to have been fulfilled.

This week, Al Baker said he would release the airline’s financial results for its last fiscal year, which ended on March 31. Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market trade show in Dubai yesterday, he said:

“I am not going to mince my words. I am going to meet the press. I am going to meet with government officials next week, but after that I am going to open the books and confront them (US carriers).”

He added that delays in receiving Qatar Airways’ new Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 hurt the carrier’s bottom line last year.

“Put together, the sales performance that we expected didn’t happen … our profit will be less than what I was estimating,” he said, according to The National.

Subsidy accusations

Al Baker’s remarks come as the airline, along with Gulf carriers Etihad and Emirates, fend off accusations from a coalition of US carriers that they’ve received billions of dollars in state support over the past decade.

The assistance has apparently allowed them to lower ticket prices and lure customers away from legacy carriers in the US and Europe.

Qatar Airways/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

These critics say Qatar Airways is “not commercially viable” without the subsidies, which have allegedly included interest-free loans that were ultimately forgiven, free land and airport fee exemptions.

The US airlines are asking American lawmakers to retaliate by restricting the Gulf carriers’ access to their market, and the Obama administration has said it would investigate the claims.

Qatar Airways has denied the accusations, but Al Baker reportedly said this week that it would take years to provide a full response to the claims.

Earlier this week, Qatar Airways announced plans to expand further into the US by introducing flights to Boston, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

However, some of these routes aren’t scheduled to begin operating for more than a year, prompting critics to speculate that the airline is accelerating its expansion plans ahead of possible US restrictions that could limit its growth.

Delta CEO a ‘bully’

Meanwhile, Al Baker continues his verbal assault on one of his biggest American critics.

Less than two months after publicly accusing Delta Air Lines of flying “crap” airplanes, Al Baker reportedly ripped into his Delta counterpart during the Arabian Travel Market conference.

“He’s just a bully. And he’s a liar … He has no dignity, he has no ethics. He has in my opinion a weak personality, and he is only hiding behind all this nonsense, misleading his government in a big way,” Al Baker said, according to Al Arabiya.

There were also some announcements of substance involving Qatar Airways at this week’s trade show, including:

• A new daily flight to Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, commencing Oct. 1 using an Airbus A320;
• An agreement with Royal Air Maroc that will see the two carriers jointly operating 10 weekly flights between Doha and Casablanca and allow passengers to use a combination of flights from both airlines; and
• A new service that expedites travel for passengers flying from Doha to Dubai. Travelers will be able to check in at dedicated counters, clear immigration in a special “fast-track” lane and board their plane through a gate in concourse A or B that’s no more than a 10-minute walk from security, the carrier said in a statement.

Separately, there were also reports that France may give Qatar Airways permission to add flights to that country. Last week, Qatar agreed to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets from French manufacturer Dassault, but French President François Hollande reportedly downplayed any connection between the two issues.

“There have been discussions in other areas with Qatar, and with other countries, regarding the allocation of air routes, but this contract concerned only the Rafale aircraft and the material that will equip it,” Hollande said in Doha this week according to Aviation Week, citing Le Monde.

Thoughts?

(The post Al Baker: Qatar Airways unlikely to cut fares amid lower profits is from Doha News.)

Richard Messenger

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Some 90 North Korean expats have been sacked and sent home by a Qatar-based construction company over “continuous serious violations” of labor rules that resulted in the recent death of one of the employees, an American news site has reported.

According to a memo obtained by Voice of America (VOA) Korean Service, officials from Qatar’s Construction Development Company (CDC) met earlier this week with representatives from an Embassy of the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (DPRK) and informed them of the dismissals.

VOA Korea

Memo between construction company and DPRK embassy representative

In the minutes of a meeting between the two sides, which was held on May 3, CDC told embassy officials that 90 of their 192 North Korean workers were being sent home after repeatedly breaking provisions of Qatar’s Labor Law (No. 14 of 2004).

The company apparently found that Korean supervisors who were responsible for the well-being of their workers “have been continuously forcing them to work more than 12 hours a day,” provided them with sub-standard food and regularly ignored health and safety procedures.

Articles 73 and 74 of Qatar’s Labor Law state that employees are not ordinarily allowed to work more than 48 hours a week, eight hours a day or a maximum of 10 hours a day with paid overtime. Article 75 adds that they must be given at least one rest day of 24 hours each week.

The memo added that the actions led to the death of a worker, although it does not give any details about the circumstances, and has “resulted in causing the company great inconvenience with the local authorities.”

It is not clear why the construction workers are being sent home, in addition to the supervisors.

However, in what was described as a show of “gratitude” toward the workers, the firm said it would not fire all of the North Korean employees. And those sent home will receive No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and would be able to return to Qatar to work for another company, the memo added.

VOA Korea

Memo between construction company and DPRK embassy representative

The remaining 102 staff will be allowed to stay, but CDC warns that if they break any stipulated rules, their employment will be terminated and they will be sent home immediately.

According to the letter obtained by VOA, these rules include:

• Misbehavior on-site;
• Non-compliance with CDC health and safety procedure;
• Absconding and working at other sites other than CDC;
• Consuming and manufacturing banned substances;
• Any kind of violation of local laws;
• Thefts at the site/camp; and
• Inappropriate behavior.

The managers of the Korean workers had to submit the names and original identity cards of the 90 workers to CDC by May 4, otherwise they would lose the right to get NOCs, the letter added.

CDC was not immediately available for comment.

Qatar construction

The construction company has worked on a number of landmark projects in Qatar including the Emiri Terminal at Hamad International Airport, the St. Regis Hotel Doha, Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel and Commercial Bank Plaza in West Bay according to its website.

Marsa Malaz Kempinski

Marsa Malaz

But it is not clear which project the sacked workers had been contracted to develop.

There are believed to be nearly 3,000 North Koreans working in Qatar, predominantly on construction sites.

Last year, international media reports surfaced about the conditions some North Koreans working in Qatar must endure.

In November, The Guardian quoted an unnamed manager of a tower project that had employed 50 North Koreans.

“They work constantly. I have even built a room for them so they can rest without having to go back to their labor camp,” the newspaper reports.

According to the newspaper, the workers received only around 10 percent of their salary during the three years they were in Qatar, with the rest reportedly going to North Korean-run authorities.

VOA also reported in December last year of poor housing conditions faced by the North Korean workers in Qatar.

And there were also several reported incidents in which North Koreans were arrested and investigated in Qatar over claims that they manufactured and distributed alcohol and drugs illegally, Seoul-based Daily NK reports.

Thoughts?

(The post Report: Qatar contractor fires N. Korean workers over labor violations is from Doha News.)

Abdulla Almesleh/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

As the number of road deaths and serious injuries in Qatar continues to climb, new figures suggest that children are the victims in a disproportionate number of major vehicle collisions.

In a statement this week, Dr. Rafael Consunji, director of Hamad Medical Corp.’s (HMC) injury prevention program, said that motor vehicle crashes in Qatar lead to more than 200 serious injuries annually of children under the age of 18.

That means that despite making up only about 17 percent of the population, children accounted for nearly 30 percent of the 671 major injuries suffered in traffic collisions disclosed by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) last year.

However, in terms of fatalities, Consunji said that 35 children die each year as a result of vehicle crashes. That works out to nearly 16 percent of the fatalities in recorded by MDPS – roughly in line with the proportion of children in the population.

Still, the official said there are disturbing details behind the figures.

“The fact that nearly 90 percent of these deaths happen at the scene, and are not treated at HMC hospitals highlights the importance of preventing these injuries from happening in the first place.”

Prevention

In light of the figures, HMC has repeated its call for passengers to buckle up. Medical officials have previously said that only a tiny fraction – 1.2 percent – of residents injured in car crashes here are wearing a seatbelt or strapped into a car seat.

observingeye/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Seeing children unbuckled and climbing around the interior of a moving vehicle is a common sight in Doha. This is in part because some people are skeptical about the effectiveness of car seats, or may balk at the costs involved in buying one. Others have said that their children don’t like to be restrained while in moving vehicles.

Advocates point out that it took decades for seatbelt use to become virtually universal in places such as North America, and that it will simply take time for attitudes to change in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the number of traffic collision victims in Qatar keeps climbing.

There were 65 road deaths during the first three months of the year, according to the latest MDSP figures. That’s up from 40 during the same period in 2014.

Similarly, the number of serious injuries rose to 203 during the first quarter of 2015, up from 142 during the same timeframe last year.

Population growth slowing

Separately, there have been several signs that Qatar’s rapid population growth of recent years may soon taper off.

Earlier this month, statistics showed that population growth in the country appears to have leveled off in April.

And officials from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) said this week that they expect the number of working expats in Qatar to “steadily decline,” according to the Gulf Times.

Avi Viljoen/Flickr

Doha Metro Green Line

The race to construct highways, stadiums, hotels and rail lines is a labor-intensive process. For example, there are currently 18,500 people currently working on the Doha Metro project alone, Qatar Rail officials said last month.

However, as these projects start to wind down, the need for expat workers is expected to similarly decrease.

Still, the government has misjudged Qatar’s labor needs before. According to the country’s National Development Strategy, the country’s population was expected to be 1.84 million in 2015. That’s considerably off from last month’s total of 2.34 million residents.

In fairness, the comprehensive document was released just as Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup and embarked on massive construction building boom.

Both the 2011-16 development strategy and this week’s report from the MEC envision Qatar evolving by reducing the number of low-paid manual laborers while increasing the share of highly skilled and highly paid expats in the labour force.

Thoughts?

(The post Health official: Children paying the price for bad driving in Qatar is from Doha News.)

QRC

Qatar Red Crescent Nepal earthquake relief

Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has treated more than 300 patients, including a 101-year-old man, in the first 48 hours after arriving in a Nepali village some 50km away from the epicenter of last month’s devastating earthquake.

The local charitable organization said its mission in Nepal has been extended from two to three months due to the need, during which it expects to treat some 7,000 patients.

The QRC is currently operating a health care unit staffed by three physicians, six nurses and a pharmacist, all of whom are assisted by several local volunteers with medical backgrounds.

The team arrived in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu late last month, two days after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous region, killing more than 7,650 people and injuring thousands more.

QRC

101-year-old Funchu Tamang receives medical attention from QRC

After exploring several areas and consulting with other international relief organizations, the QRC set up in Trishuli, a town in Nepal’s Nuwakot District and began treating patients on May 4.

That included centenarian Funchu Tamang, who survived an entire week buried under rubble. He is now recovering from pneumonia, but has been left homeless following the earthquake’s destruction, the charity said.

Many patients treated by the QRC had suffered injuries during the earthquake, while others were seeking treatment for pneumonia, eye infections, chronic ailments such as hypertension and diabetes, as well as obstetrics and gynecology cases.

Equipped with an emergency section, pharmacy, operating theater, orthopedic surgery room, emergency laboratory as well as a 40-bed temporary ward for patients, the healthcare unit is designed to be self-sufficient without requiring any external supplies for up to 100 days, QRC said.

The organization is currently appealing for donations, which can be made online here.

Those who wish to help the earthquake victims in Nepal have been encouraged to donate money, rather than goods, to make the biggest impact.

Nepalis struggling in Qatar

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that some of the estimated 400,000 Nepalis living in Qatar are struggling to leave the country so that they can return home and tend to injured family members and help them rebuild homes.

Richard Messenger/Flickr

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Some of them are reportedly having trouble securing an exit permit and permission to take time off from their employers.

That’s led several long-standing critics of Qatar’s labor policies to amplify their appeals for the country to loosen restrictions around leaving the country.

In a statement last week, Sharan Burrow, secretary-general of the International Trade Union Confederation, said:

“We call upon the Gulf States, which rely so heavily on cheap and exploited labour from Nepal, to show compassion and immediately suspend the kafala restrictions which are stopping Nepalese people returning home for bereavement and to help reconstruct the country.”

However, media sources closer to the Nepali community in Qatar have reported that the challenges can sometimes be more complex.

Some Nepali expats are unable to afford the plane ticket from Doha, while others grapple with deciding whether it’s better to return home or keep working to support their surviving family members, reports Nepali newspaper Ekantipur.

It cited the case of Uddhab Giri, who hails from Bhadritar in Nuwakot and lost his wife in the earthquake. He opted not to leave Qatar on the advice of his parents.

“We cannot do anything even if we return. We need money now like never before, as we have to start again from rock bottom,” said Giri’s brother, Prushottam, according to Ekantipur.

The newspaper quoted an official at the Nepali embassy in Qatar as saying that approximately 25 people have sought the mission’s help to return home.

Meanwhile, some local companies have said they are assisting their employees make their way back to Nepal.

The Profit Group, which runs the local Cars Taxi franchise, told Doha News earlier this week that it had arranged for four Nepali drivers whose families were affected by last month’s earthquake to be flown to an Indian airport close to the Nepal border.

Thoughts?

(The post Qatar relief workers arrive in Nepal, extend mission to three months is from Doha News.)

Shabina S. Khatri

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning (MMUP) has sanctioned two high-end restaurants in Al Sadd and the West Bay Lagoon for serving food that apparently passed its expiration date.

The closures were posted on MMUP’s website in Arabic, but did not specify which eateries at the venues were affected.

Diplomatic Club/Facebook

Le Grill

However, staff at the Diplomatic Club told Doha News that Le Grill was ordered shut for 10 days, as of May 4.

Also on Monday, the Millennium Hotel was told to partly close for 15 days for also serving expired food.

An employee there said the hotel’s Atrium Cafe, which serves coffee, pastries and other snacks, will be shut for the next two weeks.

Expanded mandate

The closures come as the MMUP seeks to increase the number of spot checks and inspections it undertakes to catch any potential food violations.

Amendments were made to the food law last February that gave authorities more power to punish venues that serve meals deemed unfit for human consumption.

At that time, the ministry was also given the legal ability to name and shame closed restaurants, albeit only on its website.

Though skepticism was expressed about whether high-profile businesses would be sanctioned publicly, this week’s closures appear to indicate that officials are not playing favorites.

Food poisoning

Chantelle D'mello

Photo for illustrative purposes only.

As the weather heats up, incidences of food poisoning become more common in Qatar.

Health officials have previously advised residents to ensure that their food is stored properly, prepared in a hygienic environment and cooked thoroughly before consuming.

To improve safety standards in restaurants, the Supreme Council of Health also launched a hotline late last year for residents to report food poisoning cases.

The mobile numbers are 6674 0948 and 6674 0951.

Once a report is filed, a team from the SCH promises to visit the affected people, then inspect the related food outlet and collect samples for laboratory examination.

Thoughts?

(The post Qatar Diplomatic Club, Millennium Hotel partly closed for food violations is from Doha News.)

Video still via ictQatar

For illustrative purposes only,

Qatar’s telecoms regulator has pledged to take stricter action against companies that bombard residents with unwanted marketing messages, amid ongoing complaints about spam on mobile phones.

The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is drafting a code of conduct that it said would beef up existing guidelines for companies that use text/SMS messages and applications such as WhatsApp, Viber and Skype to reach customers.

This new code is still in the early stages of being drawn up and will take input from consumers and industry representatives before it is finalized, a CRA spokesman said.

The watchdog hopes to create a more rigorous set of rules for companies to follow, including introducing “compliance measures,” the CRA official added, although he did not comment on whether penalties would be involved.

Mobile spam has long been a source of ire for residents. In 2011, Ooredoo (then Qtel) began a spam-blocking service and at the time said businesses could face sanctions for spamming customers.

Matthew Walker

Mobile spam

Then in 2013, it launched a feature on its mobile app that allows users to block senders by phone number or company name, although in the initial stages, it met with mixed success.

While the service blocked some senders, it did not stop new senders from contacting would-be customers.

Also that year, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ictQatar) put guidelines in place outlining what types of messages can be sent to an individual without their explicit consent. Under those rules, permission is still required even if the recipient has a publicly-available telephone number.

However, these provisions only pertain to messages sent by SMS and email, and they are not currently enforceable with penalties.

@dohanews +971 55 720 94 78 just got a scam call from this number saying I had won the lottery in Qtel be aware people ! @OoredooQatar

— aqib naqvi (@naqvi_aqib) May 6, 2015

The CRA was established last April under Emiri Decree as an independent regulatory arm of ictQatar and is responsible for telecoms, access to digital media and the postal service.

Its remit is to enforce the Advertising, Marketing and Branding Code, introduced September, as a means of improving transparency in telecom marketing campaigns.

In its latest statement, the CRA said it is monitoring the level of complaints about mobile spam, and is looking at bringing in “additional mechanisms and regulatory enforcements that will further clarify the use of telecoms services.”

Blocking spam

The CRA said that it is in talks with Qatar’s two telecoms service providers to address the issue. Until it can roll out what it describes as “stringent measures,” the watchdog has reminded residents how they can stop spam messages.

Oooredoo customers can block numbers by doing the following:

• Text “Unsub ServiceName” to 92600 or if you want to stop all bulk SMS senders, just send “Unsub all” to 92600;
• Block an unknown or spamming sender via Ooredoo’s mobile app.
• Block an unknown or spamming sender via Ooredoo’s helpline (111) or website.
• Report cases via social media channels – Facebook and Twitter.

Vodafone customers who receive spam and scam messages can:

• Block an unknown or spamming sender via Vodafone’s helpline (111) or website.
• Report cases via social media channels – Facebook and Twitter.

Residents receiving spam via Skype, Viber or WhatsApp are advised to report and block the offenders using the app. Repeat offenders can be blocked by contacting the service provider, CRA said.

Ooredoo has previously warned customers against giving out their mobile numbers in stores or when filling out questionnaires, which it said is a sure-fire way of getting added to mobile marketing lists.

“Customers go shopping, and when the cashier asks to fill in a form to either sign up for their loyalty program, be notified of discounts, add a phone number and email to account right before payment, customers give their mobile number.

If the retailer is part of a large chain, that number is then passed on to all their retailers. This is one of the primary ways customers end up getting Spam SMS from these companies,” a company spokesperson previously told Doha News.

Do you receive lots of spam messages? Thoughts?

(The post Qatar’s telecoms watchdog plans tough action on mobile spam is from Doha News.)

Chantelle D'mello

Mowasalat Old Ghanim bus station

Five months after a bus crash that left four people dead, Qatar’s public transportation authority Mowasalat has announced that it is adding additional security and safety measures to the company’s main bus depot in Old Ghanim.

Responding to criticism from local media about decrepit conditions at the station, the company told Al Raya this week that it had “set a future plan for full development of the terminal after the completion of the infrastructure in Al Ghanim area.”

Supplied

December’s deadly accident.

This is one of the first times the company has commented publicly about safety concerns at the station, where four people died in December after a bus driver lost control of his vehicle, crashing through concrete barriers and into a crowd of people.

Passengers milling about the station have also been injured in two other incidents, in August 2013 and more recently in March 2015, after being knocked over by out-of-control buses.

After each incident, Mowasalat added additional concrete barriers to the station to separate and protect pedestrian traffic from buses.

New measures

But now, it is going beyond that by installing a different type of barrier, as well as gates to direct pedestrian traffic flow, a shift supervisor told Doha News this morning.

“Before, there was only one row of these movable concrete blocks. Now, we have these new (black and yellow) barriers that are concrete, reinforced with steel pipes, that go 1m into the ground. We have added an extra layer of movable concrete blocks behind (this new addition), and are planning on putting in gates,” he said.

Installation of the new permanent black and yellow concrete blocks began about three weeks ago. About 15 blocks are slated to be put up.

Chantelle D'mello

Construction at bus station.

Gates are then expected to be installed perpendicular to the barriers to control the flow of foot traffic to the buses, and add an extra layer of protection for the passengers, the supervisor said.

For now, passengers appear unimpressed with the new plans. Several who spoke to Doha News today questioned the sturdiness of the new barriers.

“When the first accident happened, there were some (concrete) barriers, but the bus went through it. How do we know it won’t happen again?” one Nepali expat asked.

Chantelle D'mello

Old Ghanim bus station

Another passenger who hails from India commended the move to narrow the access route from the bus shelter to the buses, but wondered how the new procedure would be reinforced.

“It’s good that they’re doing this, but how are they going to stop people from going around? People still do that even where they put up this new (barrier). There’s no police here to make sure that people stay back,” he said.

In its statement, Mowasalat also said it plans to add new bathroom facilities to the area.

Thoughts?

(The post Qatar’s Mowasalat to improve safety at main bus terminal in Old Ghanim is from Doha News.)