DOHA: Several citizens, including a member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC), have called for setting up food banks across the country to support low-income expatriate workers and needy families reeling from the spiralling cost of living.
Small groups of expatriate workers are reportedly being spotted at shopping malls and public parking areas, especially during weekends asking for money from people to buy food. Recently, some customers contacted the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) urging it to take up this issue and find a solution before it becomes a serious problem, according to Al Sharq.
Ahmed Al Sheeb, a CMC member while calling for practical steps to address the problem, said that the sponsors must be held responsible for leaving these workers jobless and needy.
He suggested that citizens and expatriates who come across people seeking financial help must try to find out their real problems, rather than giving some emergency assistance.
“Why do their sponsors fail to give them job and salary? If the same faces appear again and again, the authorities should be informed so that they can take action,” Al Sheeb told this daily yesterday.
In remarks to Al Sharq, which carried a report on the issue yesterday, Al Sheeb said the increasing prices is a problem for every one especially the low income workers since they have to support themselves and their families back home.
“They are forced to ask for help or money with different justifications. This shows there is a problem. If we cannot provide them jobs, why are we bringing them here?” asked Al Sheeb.
He said a practical solution to the problem is to set up food banks in different parts of the country, especially in places dominated by expatriate labourers, with support of charitable organisations. Such projects are functioning successfully in some Arab and European countries, he added.
“We do it here in Ramadan and why can’t we make it in other months as well?. Charity organisations are always ready to receive surplus food, not only during Ramadan and Eid. The surplus food from weddings and other special occasions as well as hotels and conferences can be saved and delivered to needy families and low income workers,” said Al Sheeb.
The idea of food banks is to preserve the surplus food properly and distribute it to the poor and the needy.
“Businesses and families can cooperate in this project. We don’t want to see people begging in commercial centres and even in mosques,” he added.
According to Natra Saeed, a businesswoman, this is the right time to launch such projects with several new projects in the country and a rapid increase in the number of foreign workers. For many of them, their meagre salaries are not enough to cover their expenses, she added.
The Peninsula
