Duped Filipinos forced to beg for money on Qatar's streets
BY JOSETTE EMILY Z. DE JESUS
MIGRANT WATCH
Bulatlat
Nelson Ebreo left the Philippines late last year to work as a tile setter in Qatar, seeking to provide a good future for his three children, the eldest of whom is still in Grade III, and his wife. However, after months of receiving nothing from his employer, he ended up begging on the streets of Qatar and his family went hungry.
Ebreo was recruited by SML Human Resource Inc. and was promised a salary of US$500 a month. According to him, he was asking for a basic contract but the agency instead provided them an offer letter assuring them of jobs in Qatar.
Upon arrival in Qatar, he learned that there is no contract and the salary would be based on production. For two months of work, he was only paid QR800 each month which was lower than what was stipulated.
"We had to shoulder our food, and our water and electricity expenses would also be deducted from our salaries. If you got sick they wouldn’t bring you to the hospital. We had to fend for ourselves. They didn’t care about us. Our food cost as much as QR350, so we would be left with only QR450, and then there would be the many salary deductions. There would be nothing left for our families," Ebreo shared.
Because of his situation in Qatar, Ebreo was unable to provide money for his family. "My family went hungry because in the five months that we stayed in Qatar we were unable to send money to our families," he said.
Because of this, he decided to stop working and talked to his employer, saying that he wanted to go home. Unfortunately, his employer turned down his request and told him that he could only go home upon payment of US$1500, otherwise he would be imprisoned.
MIGRANT WATCH
Bulatlat
Nelson Ebreo left the Philippines late last year to work as a tile setter in Qatar, seeking to provide a good future for his three children, the eldest of whom is still in Grade III, and his wife. However, after months of receiving nothing from his employer, he ended up begging on the streets of Qatar and his family went hungry.
Ebreo was recruited by SML Human Resource Inc. and was promised a salary of US$500 a month. According to him, he was asking for a basic contract but the agency instead provided them an offer letter assuring them of jobs in Qatar.
Upon arrival in Qatar, he learned that there is no contract and the salary would be based on production. For two months of work, he was only paid QR800 each month which was lower than what was stipulated.
"We had to shoulder our food, and our water and electricity expenses would also be deducted from our salaries. If you got sick they wouldn’t bring you to the hospital. We had to fend for ourselves. They didn’t care about us. Our food cost as much as QR350, so we would be left with only QR450, and then there would be the many salary deductions. There would be nothing left for our families," Ebreo shared.
Because of his situation in Qatar, Ebreo was unable to provide money for his family. "My family went hungry because in the five months that we stayed in Qatar we were unable to send money to our families," he said.
Because of this, he decided to stop working and talked to his employer, saying that he wanted to go home. Unfortunately, his employer turned down his request and told him that he could only go home upon payment of US$1500, otherwise he would be imprisoned.
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