Qatar Quarantine Ordeals
Summary
Date Reported: 11 Mar 2021
Location: Qatar
Companies
GSS Certis (Certis subsidiary) - Employer , Minor International - Client , Msheireb Properties - Client , Temasek - UnknownOther
Government ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - UnknownAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Security companies , Gender not reported )Issues
Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Freedom of Expression , Intimidation , Right to Food , Personal Health , ImprisonmentResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The worker reporting alerted the authorities on Twitter but they did not take action. It was impossible for the workers to report anonymously to the labour ministry. The Resource Centre contacted Certis, its holding company Temasek and real estate client Msheireb Properties, receiving responses from Certis and Msheireb Properties. In May 2021, Noah/Malcolm Bidali was arrested by the Qatari authority, ostensibly because of his activism. He has been released and charged with spreading disinformation and receiving payments from a "foreign agent".
Source type: NGO
Summary
Date Reported: 11 Mar 2021
Location: Qatar
Companies
Qatar Airways - UnknownProjects
Mekaines Hotel (Mukaynis Quarantine facility) - UnknownOther
Government ( Sector not reported/applicable ) - UnknownAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Philippines , Domestic worker agencies , Gender not reported )Issues
Right to Food , Precarious/Unsuitable Living Conditions , Freedom of Expression , Personal HealthResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: The workers used the complaints hotline given at the accommodation but no one answered the phone and they did not have internet. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Qatar Airways to respond; their response can be read in full below.
Source type: NGO
We share three separate experiences of migrants in Qatar under differing circumstances and at different points in time. First, accounts from workers isolated in their accommodation after exposure to colleagues who had tested positive; second, a video and short explanation from a domestic worker who returned from a holiday and had to go through mandatory quarantine paid for by her employer. And finally, the experience of a worker who tested positive and was sent to institutional quarantine. Names have been changed to protect their identity.