The Box Appeal

I'm not donating to this as it is too patronising and allows the employers to get away from their responsiblities.

I'll be donating to this appeal instead

http://qatarliving.com/node/2932549

please tell me, what does a worker you see everywhere in the streets earn, or the guy that puts my groceries in the bag at the supermarket, or the guy that cleans the street in my compound twelve hours a day. I have no idea. and is there something like a minimum wage in qatar?

Just to put a bit of a positive spin on this, back in 2009 I think there were people threatened with deportation for taking charity up to the Industrial Area.

So things have at least improved enough for the local charity groups to recognize that things up there are pretty bad.

yes i agree with you...think of it as a work in progress. I chanced upon this bit of news on qatar is booming so decided to google it and found their fb page. And since i didnt have to donate anything, i just decided what the heck, i'll just give em a click....let's whether they really donate those boxes! LOL

shellyjean - i like the last saying Think this is a work in progress. Lets hope for some more humanity towards all.

I think it is the brainchild of some do-gooder EXPAT wives. I know there was an 'initiative' among some ladies I used to know who were just offended by BO of the workers and thought that they just needed a nudge or antiperspirant or something.

I know that some companies ARE building new accommodations. This is becoming necessary because of the laws as the issues of a bunch of bachelor workers in residential family neighborhoods is no longer ignored.

Think this is a work in progress. Lets hope for some more humanity towards all.

Corporate Social Responsibility does not mean just using your name to promote your self whilst asking others to contribute. It means actually taking action using your own resources and finances for the betterment of the community..

I don't know if they can afford a toothbrush or not but where and how are they going to get one? They have no transportation and if they did they aren't allowed in the shopping centers on their day off.

Mandi

There's really no way to put a positive spin on this event.

Are we to believe that Qatar's companies are operating with such tight margins, and are so short of money, that their workers are in need of charity?

Or that the government here can't afford to help them, so has turned to members of the public to put their hands in their pocket to help out?

I won't be giving to this appeal, mostly because I can already see the photos in the Gulf Times of someone with a Rolex and $2000 shoes smiling and giving a box to a representative of the workers, trying to take all the credit for other people's generosity.

A good cause, somehow others might represent it as an insult and sarcasm....

I dont know what they are trying to promote... but,

It may represent these things: (Just an opinion)

1. Laborers are not getting a good salary that they cannot afford to buy those things; or

2. It's a must for the laborers to shower and brush their teeth; or

3. These companies are trying to get a good image by publicly advertising on reaching out to our poor laborers or;

4. These companies are honestly trying to reach out (?)

Oh well, I think Qatar Labor Law needs some revisions.... BIG TIME!

thanks guys!

i do feel so sorry for these guys, yet its better to lend them a hand personally than doing stuff for show :(

PinkPaw .. You said it much better than I could have :O)

PinkPaw well said.

Pink Paw, SPOT ON!!!

Pretty sinister stuff.

we give them the requested "click" or the "stuff" required & finally they show it off as if they did it just by them selves! ha ha ha! what a joke?

these kind of people should understand that laborers are the back bone of this country. without for them there will be money, knowledge, needed accessories yet no staff to work it through the end. there will be no big villas or 1000+story buildings or the fascinating places.

they work in the sun, the rain, the cold...omg!!

I at least have my husband to talk to when i'm in trouble or pain or what ever it is.. yet who, have they got??? we live in spacious houses while they live in places were we cant even imagine.

been to places in & out of qatar, i have witnessed how the families of these people suffer, how they have been neglected, their pain, their life styles..

these people needs proper attention, counselling, shelter, protection, safely cooked meals...not just a box filled with items. if any one can, then do it!!

we need to purchase the required items in order to give them away, which means that this is underhand marketing.

we buy the products & the seller becomes rich, we give away the products & the charity project gives the publicity to Msheireb Properties & Qatar charity!

ha ha! we are losers & being used terribly in both the ways!!

I wish this consortium of companies join hands together and appeal to the government to ensure this workers gets a better pay and facilities rather.

They could also put a football in each box and we can dress them up in the national team colors of various FIFA members, so we can arrange tournaments once they have finished their 16 hour shift.

Maybe on the side of the box they can write 'Expect Amazing' so the workers can feel they are part of 2022.

If people do not have a job and want to work but have trouble feeding their family or providing shelter then charity we hope will help them.

These people have jobs so why should they need charity to get by and also so why should the expatriate community in Qatar have to subsidise the companies who make a lot of money out of the boom in Qatar?

Is this just begging-by-proxy?

These workers are so poorly paid that they can't afford a bar of soap?

For realz?

This initiative is good for regions and countries which have gone through a natural calamity or are ravaged by war and people are living in tents and their governments are not able to support them in any way.

For a country like Qatar which boasts of highest per capita income and is spending hundereds of billions of riyals in sponsoring sports events and hosting international conferences, it looks like a farce. and what message are we sending to the outside world? That we are insensitive to the plight of expat workers and now we have to rely on charity to make their lives better.

In my opinion, this initiative is a brain child of someone who is totally removed from the real situation on the ground here and it could have been better if a dipstick survey in the form of Workers Satisfaction Survey would have been conducted to assess their ACTUAL needs before embarking on a futile mission.

As they say, if you want to help someone,teach him how to fish. In this case, we are doling out fish which is of no use and is not going to help anyone.

The really issue is that I'am against the idea of treating our workers as charity seekers and beggars whereas it's they who have built this country.

I guess we need to treat them with respect and give them their rights rather them initiating something like this shoebox initiative which makes them look like beggars.

It's much better to let the world see how Qatar treats these people!

We don't need to do charity in THE RICHEST COUNTRY in the world!!

This initiative has not been started by the government but a consortium of companies. It's a good gesture in the Corporate Social Responsibility space and will never be effective. Infact,it exposes the lacunae that exists in this region. In my opinion,it's better to increase the workers salary by 50 or 100 QR instead of making them look like charity seekers in the media.

These workers are here for employment,not for begging.