In a recent longform article for The Wilson Quarterly called “Nowhere to Turn,” Northwestern University in Qatar journalism graduate J. Zach Hollo and his colleague Xiran Liu report on the several months they spent following 24-year-old Sarun Chhetri.
Chhetri is a Nepali cab driver who has spent the last four years in Qatar, working to support his mother, wife and two children back home.
Like many of his compatriots, Chhetri is proud to be able to send money to Nepal to pay for his family’s house, utility bills, children’s schooling and other expenses.
But he also sometimes regrets the life choices he’s made. Hollo writes:
After living away from his family for four and a half years, and spending much of that time gazing out at black pavement, (Chhetri) no longer thought of the world in sentimental terms.
More clearly than before, he understood the reality of his situation, that half a decade of his youth had been spent driving a cab in a country more than 2,000 miles from his home.
He had a son who barely knew him, a mother in declining health, a wife who slept without him, a family who depended on his income to survive.
“Spending your youth here and going home an old man is no life,” he told me later.
He said he regretted getting married young, that he did not process the fact that by doing so, three lives would soon be financially dependent on him.
He did not think ahead and see that farming his property would never earn enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table, and that he would be marooned indefinitely.
“I wish I would have lived for myself for a while. I could have travelled and worked somewhere I wanted,” he said. “Now, when I go home, my family is happy to see me at first. But after about three months, they get stressed because I’m not earning a salary, and they want me to go back to Qatar.”
Economic motivation
To be sure, the money Nepalis make while working in Qatar and other Gulf countries has gone a long way in improving the nation’s economic outlook. Some 10 percent of the Asian country’s population – 2.2 million people – now live and works outside of Nepal, Hollo reports.
“The remittance pay they send home constitutes one-fourth of Nepal’s gross domestic product. Thanks in part to this injection of international revenue, Nepal is now growing at an annual rate of almost 4 percent.
Over the past two decades, the percentage of Nepal’s population that lives on less than $1.25 a day has dropped from 68 percent to just under 25 percent, according to data from the United Nations.”
But that growth appears to have come at no small cost, especially for people like Chhetri, who works for Al Afdhal Transport Co., which does not always provide a steady paycheck.
Because of this, Chhetri must think long and hard before even going to see a movie on his day off. Hollo writes:
“Movies were expensive in Doha, usually at least $11.
Whenever drivers complained of boredom, their boss chided them.
‘You are not supposed to have fun here. You are only supposed to work and send money to your families. When you go home to visit after a few years, then you can think about having fun.’
(Chhetri) knew he might never end up going to the movie with his friends. He knew it was a bad idea anyhow, since his company could stop paying him at any time, and he needed every penny he could muster.
But he liked having something to look forward to, something to plan for other than the endless destinations of customers. He wanted to escape, ever so briefly, from the road and its tendency to suck you down a drain of emotionally exhausting thoughts.”
Read Chhetri’s whole story here.
Thoughts?
Wow the reality of life and the choices we make sacrificing happiness for money otherwise you are broke. But all hope is not lost if you have a dream and have created a definite plan in achieving your burning desire if that is the case i say suffer now and live like a king in future.
I think life can be very simple and easy if workers and employers sat and talk rationaly about work problem and sort thing out
Perhaps in a Union environment , just sayin ; ) Ali .
Exactly brother 😉
This guy and people like him could lead a decent life if they are offered the salary they deserve; a salary aligned to Qatar’s living standards not to Nepal’s.
Who gets the salary they deserve?
Not sure what you mean, but for me, anything lower than 3500/4000 is unfair by Qatar’s standards.
Virtually no one believes they get paid the salary they deserve.
As long as you get free accommodation, which these people do then the salary is fair. (Standard of accommodation is a different matter)
Their accommodations aren’t free, because if their were these workers would be getting paid a lot more.
Salary in Qatar depends on your nationality which is pretty unfair. I could say 40% comes with your experience and education whilst 60% will be dependent on your nationality.
Salary depends on the type of job, lower level, low skilled jobs are filled exclusively by Asians so no discrimination. Jobs at the very top are filled by any qualified person regardless of nationality, (excluded locals) and again no discrimination
Rofl mimh..
I would say the perception of qualified people. I have witnessed nationality/ethnicity discrimination. Certain people are seen as more credible or more intelligent to unskilled managers.
‘You are not supposed to have fun here. You are only supposed to work and send money to your families. When you go home to visit after a few years, then you can think about having fun.’
That is not the words of a Boss, Thats the words of someone who has a lot to learn about managing people…….
Sounds pretty much like any religion originated in the M.E.
And we have the prize winner of the day- to connect everything to religion.
Out of curiosity, which cave are you from?
Altamira. Please don’t stereotype my people on the account of my “stupidity”.
Deleting for irrelevance.
Doesnt it hurt to read all these comments everyday….wish things got better soon.
It isn’t this extreme, but the competitive corporate world has had this belief as well. Only relatively recently have companies started to talk about work/life balance and that depends on the company and profession. Still many people in corporate jobs work long hours coming home after the kids have gone to bed, sometimes working on weekends so that they can provide for their families and get to enjoy life when they retire. Obviously they have more benefits than these laborers but stress is a big issue these days.
It’s sad though that Qataris and a lot of expats can enjoy a good work balance in Doha, yet the laborers don’t get this.
I read this article a while ago and although sad it’s describes the situation of most of the worlds population. Born into poverty, with little hope of escape from the slums of Benous Aries to Nigeria to India to the Phillipines.
Then the hope of a job in Qatar or similar at ten times you can earn back home if you can find a job. At first it’s great but then your family get used to the extra money and don’t want you to return. So your stuck in a boring job with few friends and no family.
It is not down to Qatar to solve the worlds poverty problem it’s down to the governments where these people come from to raise standards at home but as we see in an endemically corrupt country like India, the politicians and the elites have a motivate to keep the majority of the population in poverty for their own uses.
When you benefit from the suffering of someone else, you are apart of the problem and not the solution. You can say that it is not your governments problem to fix what happens in other countries, and you are right on that point. But taking a person who desperate to take care of his family, and telling him he is not allowed to work and nothing else. That is not right.
I agree the comments of his boss are inhuman but each time he goes home he could stay, but he chooses to come back pushed by his family. His salary compared to most of the world is not bad, the amount of people that live on under two dollars a day worldwide is shocking.
However it is a matter of perspective. Other back in Nepal would be delighted to get his job whereas others here feel depressed because they can’t buy a new car.
Not getting paid is abuse but Qatar companies offering jobs and paying what was agreed is not.
MIMH, I don’t think he has a choice to live in Nepal anymore… you’ve seen the video, the minute the government started creating passport easily, nepalis just left. Of course there is much worse, like those 1$ a day people (horrible!!) but there is also much better than 120$ a month for the work they do and the living conditions they have. I would just like to understand one day, on what basis do people decide He gets 120$ a month, and he gets 5000$ a month… why ????
If taxi drivers made $5000 a month in Qatar I’m sure you wouldn’t use them as you would complain they are too expensive. Then they all have no jobs.
I’m sorry but it’s driving a taxi that requires no education and few skills, therefore the ‘price’ of the job is low. That is market economics and not Qatar’s fault.
If we all agreed to pay an extra 10 QR on every journey then all taxis drivers would be much better off but people will not do that as they are selfish. Much easier to come and moan on here that something should fe done. That’s free
Mimh I am not familiar with Middle East customs here in Canada tipping 10 to 15 % of the Taxi fare is the norm, also additional charges for luggage and parcels apply. Qatar is the “Riches Nation on Earth”.How do you tip there.
I give generous tips but tipping is not common to many cultures here. In fact the reverse is true where they try and reduce the fare
you should understand that there is something called “Cost of living” 1$ in Nepal might be the same as having 20$ to live off the entire day in Qatar. So virtually for the person who is earning money in Qatar, he is basically living the same poor life as in Nepal but on the other hand his family will be out of poverty and live with much more than 1$ a day since they are in Nepal. Pray that his children will get good education and hope for success to them, one day when his children works for a good company, he can finally retire and live a nice life.
I still don’t agree with the fact that they have such low incomes, never mind having horrible conditions of living. no amount of excuse or reasons will help me understand that …
It doesn’t sound like the boss doesn’t allow them to go to the movies. It sounds like they complained that they are bored and that the movies are expensive and the boss told them well you are here to work and make money.
We are all part of the problem because whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, most if not all of us benefit from someone’s suffering even unintentionally.
Even if we are mindful about it, it is very difficult to make sure the iphone we buy did not have parts made by overworked chinese laborers or the sneakers we bought aren’t made in sweltering factories in Bangladesh etc. Our consumption fuels this all because we “stuff” we don’t need and we want it cheap.
The whole global mindset has to change if we truly want to head toward a solution. Society has to change its’ glorification of money.
We see the extremely wealthy as heroes that we want to emulate. We respect them and honor them above people that sacrifice their lives to help others. It doesn’t matter how they got there they are treated better than everyone else despite not necessarily working harder.
I doubt there will ever be a solution to poverty because quite frankly it benefits the decision makers and politicians. Pessimistic, I know, but realistic.
Quite right. However, the ‘inhuman’ comment of the boss sounds familiar, almost like promising a better afterlife!
Well the term “chiding” is a bit subjective isn’t it?
Lol mimh.. Any topic anywhere in the world n ur examples will only point to ur list of “bash ’em” countries .. The counties u listed above only has slums?? Politicians in Europe n US are free from corruption?? Everyone in US n Europe are rich n don’t go outside their country to work?
I wouldn’t be surprised if u blame the pollution of ur fav bash ’em countries list when u start sneezing
Heights of a myopic view.
You only see what you want to see.
It is interesting that he recognises that getting married young was a mistake. Like so many people he took on commitments that he could not afford without thinking the situation through. It is far better to come to places like Doha as a single man and actually save money for yourself. Then you can return to your native country with capital to invest.
Many don’t save money for themselves as a single man. If it’s not a wife and kids to support then it’s parents, siblings, a sister’s dowry etc. Unfortunetly, there always seems to be someone depending on them.
Bit of a representation of all expats to some degree. If options at home offered the same achievement possibilities as life in Qatar, then people wouldn’t move here. At the end of the day, most people here because it offers more of what is important to them in the long-term. With all the complaints people have it would be interesting to hear more about why people are here, beyond money, and into what living here helps you accomplish back home
Couldn’t think of anything beyond money to make me come here, and being here just confirmed my initial thoughts. One wonders though how many expats from 3rd world countries ever make enough money to escape once they’re here. Sadly I suspect very few.
Well it’s what the money can provide, so obviously there are aspects of achieving the fullfillment of a full life that you sacrafice by working here, certain freedoms that you may hold in high importance, that are trumped by the money you make, because in the long-term making that money here allows you to the fullfillment of a fuller life back home, once you decide to return. An example might be someone coming out here to save a downpayment on a house, life back home may mean that achieving that is extremely difficult due to position or savings etc.
Totally agree on all points but it’s not just lack of freedom – it’s also climate and culture both inside and outside work plus boredom – which is why I get annoyed with people telling me I should be grateful for earning a high tax-free salary.
there should be respect for these people who work hard in Doha and basically have no life! When you deal with them, remember how they live!