Kenyan reveals the deceitful shadows of working in Qatar; 'the life we are living is hell'

Anonymously speaking to a media outlet France 24, he said that he paid Ksh.181.143 (€1500) to a Kenyan recruitment agency for a visa and plane ticket to fly to Qatar in 2020.

On arrival to the gulf county, he was received by the Qatari sub-contracting company which got him to working immediately. He says he was housed in downtown Doha, far away from the city centre.

He disclosed that the employer had promised he would be paid three times more than what he would get back home, with accommodation and meals provided.

"The same day I arrived here is the same day I started working, it was a construction job. This place is very hot, temperatures can go up to 50°C. The heat hits you till you feel like dying. It is not easy my friend," he said.

At the accommodation apartments, however, he says it got worse as the living conditions in the facilities were deficient to the point where basic necessities were inaccessible.

In a video he secretly recorded, corridors are full of dumped waste and most areas have lumped up dirt which had by the time started to stink. Just a glimpse of the unsanitary living conditions.

"This is the life we are living in Qatar Doha. This place is dirty and smelling. The life we are living is hell," he said in the video.

Inside the building, one room is shared by more than four workers all decrying substandard living conditions.

"We are tired now, we are really tired. This is slavery. It is some kind of a prison. This is abusing human right and it is unfair," he said.

"Everyday they promise they will give us the salary and have not yet given us. Its about a year now. We tried to talk to the company but they said they will take us to the police. Some of us want to back to our countries or change companies."

He was later given a 'promotion', working at an international supermarket to disinfect trolleys and package purchased items in bags.

The company, which is known for notoriously not complying with the law and flaunting labor reforms, told him that he would get tips of Ksh.48,160(€400) on top of his monthly salary. This was however not implemented.

The Qatari Ministry of Labor however noted that they have started working on implementing reforms in the employment sector to improve the working conditions for migrant workers.

Ministry of Labor Undersecretary Mohammed Al Obaidly said some business leaders were opposed to the reforms but they will slowly adapt to the changes.

"People often push back against change but things are slowly moving forward. Now we are in the implementation phase and we need to face up some challenges. We have to raise awareness among business leaders and employees," he said.

After a year of waiting the Kenyan worker got his passport back and terminated his employment contract but he says he never received his compensation.

Over 2.5 million migrant workers work from Qatar. They represent 90 percent of Qatar's population. They built all the stadiums and facilities for hosting the upcoming 2022 World Cup football competition in November.