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Lankans promised palace employment end up as forced labour on construction site
Over a thousand Sri Lankans are caught up in a modern day slavery racket in Qatar, where they were lured to work in a construction site for 12 hours at a stretch.
Promised with employment in a palace in Doha, Qatar, for Rs 150,000 per month, the prospective employees were sent through a local private agency for a fee of Rs 200,000, and ended up working in shocking conditions. Instead of a palace, they were made to work on a construction site of a seven-star hotel in Qatar. Labourers from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are also reportedly ‘prisoners’ of this scam, but are helpless, as authorities have yet to take legal action against the agencies involved.
The local agency sends them to Qatar fraudulently, armed with a Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) certificate stating they have undergone training. The SLBFE told the Sunday Times that it is illegal to send people abroad without a training certificate. However, this document had been provided to the workers for Rs 7,500. We found that the agency has its ‘catchers’ within the SLBFE itself.
One of the victims, Ravi, who attempted suicide for being overworked, was sent back to Sri Lanka. He is currently receiving treatment at the Matara General Hospital.
“Life there is horrible. We do not have access to food, water or medicine. Even the toilets are in bad shape. There are around 7,000 people staying in the camp where I lodged. At least 20 -25 people slept on the floor in one room because there is no space,” Ravi said.
They had to work in the scorching sun which would exceed 40 degree centigrade for 12 hours per day. “At around 12.30 pm, they would make us stand in queues for food. We are only given water and lunch. Sometimes they run out of food and we are made to wait hours till they get food. Some persons fall sick and bleed from their mouths and nose. It takes over a day for them to receive treatment for such illnesses. We are not
The duped workers at the site
even allowed to rest or go to the toilet during the 12-hour work period,” Ravi explained.
Their passports were kept by the construction site officials, preventing them from returning home.
People sent as chefs, supervisors and waiters were made to do hard labour at the construction site. The local agency makes these persons sign an SLBFE document which states they are going for labour.
“This, they said, was to save our money, because the fee to work as a labourer is much less. There are many still working there, desperate to return home,” Ravi added.