DOHA � A steady rise in the number of housemaids fleeing their sponsors has become an issue of concern among many citizens.
Shaikha Al Jefairi, the sole woman member in the Central Municipal Council who represents the Old Airport Area, said she had received several complaints from families about such incidents.
�This is one of the issues being discussed by families in my constituency," Al Jefairi told The Peninsula yesterday.
Many employers feel that they are at the receiving end when they loose a housemaid after they spent huge amounts to bring them to the country. "If an absconding maid is caught by the police, the sponsor would be given two options- either to pay for an air ticket to send her back home or grant her release to work outside. There is no provisions to protect the interests of the sponsor. This is what many employers feel," said Al Jefairi.
Sources from several Asian embassies said that they have been encountering cases of absconding maids almost every day.
�In a week, we get an average five cases of absconding Indonesian maids who seek shelter at the embassy. Normally, such incidents go up during Ramadan but this year we have not seen an increase so far," said Datang Rahmat, first secretary at the Indonesian embassy.
�We try to resolve the issue by acting as mediator between the sponsor and the maid. If the latter insists to go home, she will be handed over to the CEID for deportation. There are very few cases where the maid has requested for a release," added Rahmat.
Currently there are about 17,000 Indonesian maids in Qatar and their number has been increasing steadily, according to the official. An official from the Sri Lankan Embassy said the number of absconding Sri Lankan housemaids remains steady over the past few months, with four or five cases every week.
All the absconding maids do not necessarily seek shelter at the embassies. Some of them may be working outside illegally but the embassies have no means to trace them, said the sources.
Most of the absconding maids complain about ill treatment by the employers, low salaries or non -payment of salaries and improper accommodation.
�There are also maids who use such allegations as a cover up to quit the job and leave the country," said an embassy official.
