Dear Sir,

I would like to request the authorities concerned to allow expatriates to sponsor housemaids of their own nationality. If expatriates managing businesses are being allowed a recruitment quota of individuals from their own nationality for their companies, then those seeking babysitters and other house helps could also be allowed to do so.
With most embassies having hotline services to report bad treatment of workers, expatriates are expected to provide a safe working environment for such employees under them.
It is worth noting in this context that the UAE already allows expatriates to recruit housemaids of their own nationality.
This will help many expatriate families as recruiting housemaids of other nationalities from manpower agencies is quite expensive now. The charges, I understand, come around QR12,000 and above.
With thorough verification of maid recruitment applications by authorities, misuse of such facility can be prevented.
With the slowdown in regional economies due to low oil prices, I feel the countries that are hit could overcome the challenging conditions they face to some extent with simplified visa regimes for families and tourism promotion.
Qatar could develop new theme parks and hold more events to attract tourists to the country.

RB
(Full name and e-mail supplied)

Need to embrace career changes

Dear Sir,

Every difficult situation that you face in your career path has a reason. Nothing happens in life without reason and you need to appreciate those reasons, because each scenario is an opportunity for you to express your hidden talents and qualities that even you may not know that you have.
For example, if due to the current economic situation in the region, your management may decide to restructure the establishment where you work to cut cost and move you to another post in which you may not have much experience, don’t panic at all.
You cannot control your organisation’s decisions but you can control your response. What you should do is go with the flow. To accept and let go of the resistance, using the situation as a learning opportunity. Who knows, maybe this move could turn out to be the one you have been waiting all along!

Ali Al-Aradi
alicipd@gmail.com