Life in the Middle East VI and VII
It was June 1990 and the destination was Doha, Qatar. The goal is to work in one of the International Hotels in Doha. There were two Sheraton hotels in Qatar and destiny is to work in one of them. The hotel had 19 floors with a suite for each floor. The first floor was the accommodation for the Executive Housekeeper and the hotel maids. Male employees are not allowed to loiter on that floor without valid reason. Employees must be 35 years or older before being hired. The employees were recruited from different countries like India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Egypt, Philippines, Africa, Europe and other countries not mentioned will be a minority.
Most of the employees, whether male or female, had spouses or relatives in their own country. Being separated from their family was the most crucial test ever experienced by contract workers. For newcomers to the Middle East or Gulf countries, the emotional struggle can be devastating. That was the main reason why the hotel management went out of their way to provide the employees with as much fun and activities as possible. The hotel management had allocated a spacious room in the staff quarters called the “Games Room”. There were pool tables, table/tennis set, backgammon, chess, foosball and many others. There were also the basketball courts for those who wanted to play basketball and an open field for those who wanted to play football or soccer.
There were activities like half of the hotel staff will be on duty and half will go on a picnic on the beach with many different varieties of food, play activities and swimming. The schedule will be two days so that the other half of the staff can also go on a picnic the next day. This picnic was scheduled when the hotel was low on occupancy. In addition to the creation of the game room, outdoor activities, there were also presentation of programs for each department. With these programs, employees were able to observe the creativity of their co-workers during the presentation. During Eid Al Fitr and Christmas, the employees had an informal dinner with their families invited to attend in case they had their families in Qatar. Then there will be a raffle of gifts for employees. In addition to these various activities, there will also be parties initiated by the department head. This event takes place every year.
Outside of work, activities like catching crabs at low tide had become a hobby for some of the employees. They can catch between 100 and 200 crabs a day. Qatar has a long stretch of beaches. There were activities such as barbecue/fish party, swimming and tennis on the beach, etc.
The desert safari activities were also fun activities. Tents for all kinds of purposes were set up in a desert area. There will be a tent for food, a tent for talks and games, a tent for Arab dance or belly dancing and others. The configuration of each store was in Arabic style or motif. It was a fantastic experience for people who haven’t experienced desert safari. These activities helped lessen the emotional struggle or “household sickness” of not being with loved ones or families for a year or two.
Contract workers can go home after two years or one year for a person in a management position. And if the contract worker decided to go home before the end of his contract, he had to pay for the plane ticket. And if he/she does not return to work then he/she had to pay the hotel for the plane ticket that she used when she came to Qatar. Typically, the people who will not return will be those who cannot afford to be separated from their families or spouses. The only challenge a married contract worker had was when he or she became involved with another person, which is when things got messy.
Like Kuwait, Qatar is also governed by Islamic laws. Obscene images or films were strictly prohibited in Qatar.
Qatar was a peaceful place to work, stay and live. If the person is good and the employer issued a release paper, that person will be able to work in another company similar to the previous job. Generally, if the company terminated the contract, the subcontracted worker had to be sent back to the country of origin. Most companies in Qatar pay well, and once sponsored by a company, the medical benefit was also free. There are families in Qatar who have lived there for decades due to the peaceful life in the state. The contract workers liked their work, the people they interacted with, the friendliness of the Qataris and, above all, the tranquility of the country itself.
The news arrived that the hotel contract has been awarded to another hotel group. Employees were asked to continue with the new hotel management group, and those who did not wish to stay were free to leave.
An executive housekeeper transferred to sister company with only 7 room attendants available with 450 rooms was a tough job. Hiring new employees from other countries will take at least four to six months. The Human Resources Manager offered to hire forty (40) workers whose contract had been canceled by their employer. Out of 40 people, only 5 people can speak English. Group them into five groups with one person who can speak English in each group. He trained the five people who speak English, then those five people trained their group members to communicate in their own language. The best among them were paired with the seven room attendants and the rest were assigned to the Public Areas with the Public Area Supervisor. It was a difficult decision to hire employees with communication problems. Over the days they learned the basic English that is spoken on a daily basis. They were all very hard-working people and after six months there were improvements in their performance. This means that the hotel also received a high rating based on the results of the guest questionnaires.