Some citizens have expressed concern over the “growing trend” of housemaids running away while travelling abroad with Qatari families during the summer holidays, local Arabic daily Arrayah has reported.
They pointed out the housemaids escaped in the hope of getting higher salaries in those countries, particularly in Europe, or were sometimes helped by others in escaping, the report states.
Such housemaids may approach the embassy of her native country and claim that they are exposed to exploitation, which may cause legal problems for their sponsors, and may also seek asylum, the citizens add.
A number of nationals the daily spoke to advised fellow citizens not to take their housemaids along while going abroad during the summer vacation except when it’s absolutely necessary.
A citizen said a housemaid who gets a UK visa – for instance - may see it as a golden and one-time opportunity that can allow her to get a job for a higher salary or even get married to a local man and obtain British nationality, according to the report.
He claimed that he came to know about some cases in which housemaids ran away immediately after their arrival in a foreign country while others waited until the last day of the vacation.
