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he also stopped receiving his monthly salary; at the time Human Right Watch interviewed
him in front of the Complaints Department, he said he had not been paid for four months. 236
Masud Y. added that the Complaints Department had no staff translators to assist him in
reporting his complaint. Instead, he had to pay a local typing center to type his grievance
in Arabic. When registering his complaint with department officials, he said, “I don’t speak
Arabic, and the Qatari guy doesn’t understand me. There is one tea boy … he is making tea
and sandwiches [there] … he translated for me. He knows some Arabic.” 237 Two other
workers reporting complaints said they had relied upon the same informal arrangements to
register their complaints. 238
Masud Y. added that he had run out of money, and did not know how he would continue to
pursue his complaint. “This is the third time I’ve come back [to the Complaints
Department],” he said. “Now my pocket is empty.” 239
Obstacles to Pursuing Court Cases
Human Rights Watch did not follow the progress of individual workers’ legal cases through
Qatar’s judicial system, nor could we obtain data on legal outcomes in labor cases.
However, in our research we identified some key obstacles that prevent workers from
seeking judicial redress, and cause them to forfeit their legal rights. As with the
Complaints Department, worker advocates and embassy officials stressed that the primary
difficulty for workers who sought justice through the court system was their need to
support themselves during the process: “Legally, if you have strength, place to say, some
money, you can go to court,” said R.N., a longtime Qatar resident who assists members of
his expatriate community in distress. 240 But few workers have such safety nets, and
Sponsorship Law restrictions make it very difficult for them to change jobs.
236 Human Rights Watch interview with Masud Y., in front of the Labor Complaints Department, Doha Industrial Area, June 21,
2011.
237 Ibid.
238 Human Rights Watch interview with two construction workers, in front of the Labor Complaints Department, Doha
Industrial Area, June 21, 2011.
239 Human Rights Watch interview with Masud Y., in front of the Labor Complaints Department, Doha Industrial Area, June 21,
2011.
240 Human Rights Watch interview with R.N., Ramada Hotel, Doha, June 16, 2011.
83 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2012