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TRAPPED IN QATAR: A thirteen year sentence for rear-ending a
car?
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Return to research Posted on Sep 20 2014
One mans story of being stranded in Qatar for more than a decade, forced to rely
on the kindness of individuals to get him out of a country whose system has failed
him repeatedly.
Roshan Kumar of Nepal has been in Qatar for 19 years, but to say that he has lived in Qatar would be too
wide a statement. The last time he had been home was in 1996 and since 2001, he has been in and out of
jails and detention centres, and has headed to the airport half a dozen times only to be stopped at
immigration.
He had no money, no job, and because of
the prevailing practice of the sponsor
conscating passports, no ofcial
documents either.
For the last 17 months, he has been in Block 7 of the Deportation and Detention center a place of hope
as far as he is concerned, as its one step away from taking a ight to his home country, to see his wife and
his three children after 17 long years. His youngest son was just a babe in arms when he left home.
His story is an extreme case of the kafala systems insidious restrictiveness.
The Kafala system that governs foreign workers in GCC states has been under re for long. Its defendants
feel that it is not the system that should be blamed, but those who abuse it. However, the clauses clearly
favor the sponsor or kafeel, with little or no protection for the employee, as is evident in the story to
follow.
On May 14, Qatar had announced that it would reform the Kafala system. Since then, ofcials have been
giving contradictory statements on when and how far the reforms will go. Roshan Kumars story provides
every argument for why labor reforms cannot be delayed any longer.
A sign of hope emerged when, during a recent visit to Germany, the young Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad Al Thani did admit, there have been errors and problems, and we dont say we are an ideal state
that makes no mistakes. But I think the good news is that we have tackled a lot and have initiated many
changes in relation to the situation of foreign workers and we are working seriously on improving this
situation.
While those promised improvements are awaited, 51-year-old Roshan Kumar languishes in the detention
centre.
Roshans story rst came to light when Nepali daily Kantipur carried his story. Since then Migrant-
Rights.org has reached out to the victim and his family to explore possible recourse. This is his story:
On 29 Aug, 2014 Roshan went to the airport, in the hopes of clearing immigration and
boarding the ight to Nepal. The system showed that there was a travel ban placed on him,
and that he could not exit the country. Yet again.
It was deja vu many times over. The rst time this happened to him was on October 26, 2004.
Nearly 10 years ago. Just in the last 17 months, he attempted to exit four times: October 12,
2013; February 10, 2014; July 10, 2014 and again in August.
His problems began on January 26, 2001. After dropping a colleague at the airport in the
company pick-up truck, he was returning home late in the night. At the signal near Mamoura
complex in Abu Hamour area of Doha, he rear-ended a Landcruiser.
He spent 10 days in jail before being released pending a court case. On April 7, at the hearing
he was asked to pay QR2000 or serve six months in jail. With no money to pay the ne, and
with no help from the company he had served in since Dec 1997, he spent six months in the
jail near the Wholesale Market, and four more days in Rayyan area before being released.
However, the release did not mean freedom. He had no money, no job, and because of the
prevailing practice of the sponsor conscating passports, no ofcial documents either. To add
to his travails, the company had closed shop, and the sponsor and general manager had both
left the country.
Living off his friends, Roshan pursued the general manager, who had by then moved to
Dubai; who in turn encouraged him to le a case against the now defunct company to claim
his dues including salaries, bonus and tickets. After six months, he managed to trace his
passport and repossess it.
The court case dragged on till December 31, 2003 when the court ordered the company to
pay him QR29,000. However, the company managed to wiggle out of the settlement by
claiming the dues would take care of damage to company property (the pick up).
Again, Roshan found himself in a familiar and desperate situation. His residency had expired
and so had his driving licence.
He was now in Qatar as an undocumented worker (or what the ofcials prefer to call illegal
or runaway).
In 2004, the Qatar government had announced an amnesty to undocumented foreign workers,
and Roshan Kumar seized the opportunity to get out of the country. He surrendered to the
Search and Follow Up department of the Ministry of Interior (inaccurately referred to as the
CID by workers).
On October 26, he went to the airport from the deportation centre where he was held after
amnesty.
Thats when he realised there was a travel ban on him. He had no exit visa. This time
around it was thought to be pending legal, as the court had cleared him after the six months
sentence.
Through out this tough period, both at the Ministry and detention centre ofcials attempted to
help him at a personal level, but where unable to formally do anything.
For the next 10 years, undocumented, Roshan Kumar worked as a driver, depending on the
kindness of the people. However, he never stopped feeling trapped. There was no way out for
him.
He drove around Doha with an expired identity card and drivers licence, and at desperate
moments would violate trafc rules in the hope that he would be picked up and sent back
somehow. With no amnesty, there was little else he could do.
A year ago, he committed what according to him was a big mistake. Under the inuence of
alcohol, he took the vehicle of his employer and slept on the roadside in Daffna. The Al
Fazaa (Rescue Police) apprehended him and took him to the detention centre.
Which is where he has been the last several months, periodically making trips to the airport.
At this point neither the ofcials at the detention centre nor the Nepal Embassy are able to
gure out who or why has placed a travel ban on him.
Both Roshan and those in his trust feel the Search and Follow up department are pursuing his
case and pushing for a resolution, but seem at a lose.
Roshan holds dear to him two numbers. His expired id number and the trafc department le
number. For him, these two hold the power of release. He recalls it from memory, and repeats
it as a chant.
Is it as simple as tracing an old trafc department le? If so, why hasnt it been done?
Migrant-Rights.org spoke to a Nepal Embassy ofcial who said that the embassy has provided him with
travel documents but were unable to do much else. The head of the mission is not here now. Maybe
when he comes back, he says.
Tweet Tweet 256 Tweet Tweet 33 1 1
These are the key issues his story raises:
Socially:
1. Lack of a legal aid system capable of aiding Roshan before the case escalated.
2. No public benevolent fund for workers in distress who are stuck in debt due to circumstances
beyond their control.
Legally:
1. The sponsor was in possession of the passport, a violation of rights experienced by the majority
of low-income migrant workers in the country. When the sponsor closed shop, he was not held
accountable to settle dues or return the documents.
2. The court case for a meagre settlement of QR29,000 took over two years. The protracted legal
settlement illustrates migrants heavily obstructed access to justice, as highlighted by the UN
Special Rapporteur.
3. The Exit Permit system that controls mobility of all foreign workers in the country. In a case such
as this, where its quite evident that the offence was minor, Roshan Kumar continues to pay the
price 13 years later.
Migrant-Rights.org is awaiting feedback from international rights organizations that are trying to help
Roshan Kumar.
Documentation, Nepal, Qatar, Complaints & Legal Issues, Undocumented, Qatar, Workers
One thought on TRAPPED IN QATAR: A thirteen year sentence
for rear-ending a car?
1. Danny says:
September 21, 2014 at 8:16 am
I despise Qatar. Most of the people are foul in my experience, so this story doesnt surprise me in
the least. QATAR MUST NOT HOST THE WORLD CUP.
Reply
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