November 27, 2012

HAVE YOU ALL BEEN BOUGHT OFF???


WHAT IS GOING ON IN QATAR??? AND WHY IS EVERYONE KEEPING QUITE??? WHERE ARE THE GOVERNMENTS??? EMBASSIES??? NGOS??? HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS??? 



For the last decade, foreigners are being declined the right to leave Qatar for basically no reason and all reasons. Under the Qatari labour ‘law’, an employer (also referred to as sponsor) has the right to ban any employee from leaving the country by not granting them the ‘exit permit’ also known as exit visa - to enter Qatar, you require an entry visa and to leave you need an exit visa (the same goes for Saudi Arabia); the employer needs only to file a claim against the employee at the General Prosecutor office under any claim and all claims, and by default the name of this ‘criminal’ is put at the airport and all other exit ports. The employer’s joy manifests itself in seeing their employee stained with whatever stamp they chose for him/her (theft, dilapidation of public funds, mis/mal management, embezzlement, etc…), jobless, homeless, friendless (as not all humans are as kind as they ought to be nowadays), penniless, hopeless and on top of all helpless!!! 

The big question that arises is “why everyone is keeping quite???” People go to their embassies, they receive promises but no actions… days, months, years of their lives are being stolen while they are held in Qatar against their will for no reason than making their ‘sponsor’ unhappy in any way or another. Needless to say, the higher the sponsor’s social/political hierarchy status gets, the sterner the employee’s case becomes.
The names mentioned in this blog are the very few who managed to get their message out; hundreds of people were and are still stuck in Qatar without having the means to tell the world and be heard!!! So many blogs have been established for such cause, and the voice is still too low; please help us voice our concerns, eliminate the ‘cruelty’ and free the hostages!


Currently held in Qatar against their will:

Marcus Campbell (American, Basketball player)
http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2012/11/former-d-leaguer-marcus-campbell-being-held-hostage-in-qatar/
http://www.court-side.com/news/blog/marcus-campbell-held-hostage-in-qatar/

Mahmoud Bouneb (Tunisian/Canadian, Media Veteran) and 9 of his management team (Arab nationals, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel ex-management team)
http://www.digitaltveurope.net/17567/al-jazeera-dismisses-kids-channel-chief-and-senior-staff/
http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=526&EditionId=2168&ChannelId=51902 (Arabic)


FREED:

Yves Pendeliau (French, Senior employee Oil & Gas industry)
http://www.leprogres.fr/france-monde/2012/04/18/je-suis-prisonnier-au-qatar (French)
http://www.bienpublic.com/cote-d-or/2012/08/08/une-parodienne-en-greve-de-la-faim-pour-son-frere-retenu-au-qatar 

Nasser Beydoun (American, Businessman) – after his dismissal, he published a book called “The Glass Palace”
http://metrotimes.com/news/caught-in-qatar-1.1125290
https://sites.google.com/site/qatarhostages/nasser-beydoun
http://www.freep.com/article/20111011/COL06/110110380/Tom-Walsh-Stuck-Mideast-nearly-2-years-business-leader-his-way-home

David Proctor (British, Banker)
http://www.smh.com.au/business/qatar-be-warned-20100209-npwe.html
http://ericellis.com/archive/qatar.htm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-dangers-of-working-in-qatar-1879940.html

Tracy Edwards (British, Sailor)
http://www.nyt.co.uk/tracy.edwards.htm
http://www.classiquepromotions.co.uk/?genre=0&page=1087

Philippe Bogaert (Belgian, Journalist) – after his escape, he published a book called “Exit Permit”
http://www.flanderstoday.eu/content/hostage-qatar
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news-features/-i-am-a-hostage-in-qatar-and-this-is-my-twitter-sos--philippe-bogaert-s-story-told-in-140-characters/s5/a534629/

Ashok Raina (India, Doctor)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19528454

Anonymous (British, Teacher)
http://internationalschoolsreviewdiscuss.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/held-hostage-in-qatar/

Awareness campaign
http://www.peoplesworld.org/u-s-ally-qatar-propped-up-by-exploited-immigrant-workers/
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/qatar/report-2012
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/qatar
http://www.humanrights.ie/index.php/2010/12/09/qatar-the-world-cup-migrant-workers-and-human-rights/

QATARI LABOUR LAW
http://ebookbrowse.com/labour-law-state-of-qatar-pdf-d33807859

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=104&language_id=1&erc_doc_id=445&category_id=24&category_type=3&group=Human%20rights%20treaties%20and%20other%20instruments