QATARSUCKS and the world needs to know!

A Qatari man, who was charged with raping a Filipina housemaid on the very first day of her employment in his house on August 14, 2005, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, the maid was 17 when the incident occurred.
The Public Prosecution said the accused, 42, had told the recruitment agency that he wanted the maid to take care of his children.

A clerk in a local manpower agency said the accused provided a Philippine visa for the maid within an hour and a half.

What follows is part of an affidavit from the Filipina victim in this case. It should be noted, beforehand, that the information detailed is upsetting. However, it is necessary to publish in order to gain an understanding of the widespead lack of human decency shown towards certain nationalities in Qatar. We are pleased to be able to give this young woman a voice.

AFFIDAVIT

A Qatari man is facing charges of raping a Filipina housemaid, when she was 17, on her very first day of employment in his house on August 14, 2005.

The Public Prosecution said the accused, 42, had told the recruitment agency that he wanted the maid to take care of his children. A clerk in a local manpower agency said the accused provided a Philippine visa for the maid within an hour and a half.

53 Thai laborers have taken refuge at the Thai embassy in Qatar after striking to protest alleged violations of their work contracts by local employers, reported The Peninsula newspaper of Doha this morning.

By coincidence, the workers fled into the embassy on Sept 19, the day the military ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawtra in a bloodless coup.

Karoon Lirdluckanawong, First Secretary at the Thai Embassy, told the newspaper the workers quit their jobs and sought the mission's help after the construction company denied them salaries, food and accommodation.

Despite the fact that newspaper censorship was lifted in Qatar more than 10 years ago, the country ranks second in the Arab world after Egypt when it comes to restricting the print media from doing its job freely and fairly.

This is the gist of a report issued recently by Amman-based Centre for Human Rights Studies. Some senior officials of the Centre were here recently to conduct a symposium held by Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) on human rights and free expression.

Qatar is a destination country for men and women from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, and Indonesia who migrate willingly, but are subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers.

The problem of trafficking of foreign children for camel jockey servitude in Qatar — which has been highlighted in previous Reports — was thoroughly addressed by Government of Qatar action over the last year, though independent confirmation of the problem's complete elimination is not yet available.