Workers find 'room' at the top as rents go through the roof

SKY-HIGH rents and lack of living space are turning Doha’s old town into a slum with residential buildings stacked on top of makeshift rooms where low-income workers sleep in shelters made up of old mattresses, scrap metal and tin roofs.

“Welcome to the ghetto of Doha,” greeted Ahmadzai, who was dripping with sweat while sitting in the courtyard of a building at 3.30pm.

“Obscenely high rents, food expenses and other living costs are not proportional to what is considered to be a basic income that children and families back home need to be fed, so this is just a tiny inconvenience,” he said.

“Any newcomer or even a visitor wanting to sleep over is forced to rest on the roof,” said Ahmadzai, who has been in Qatar for three decades.

The visitors, usually friends or relatives, either come during the week from other far-flung areas such as Shahaniya or Al Khor and because “they like to hang out for at least one day in the week, the roof is where most sleep on the floor.”

Pointing towards Jaleel, who has just arrived in Qatar less than a month ago, Ahmadzai said: “He’s been promised QR800 a month for driving a dump truck and paid QR10,000 to an ‘unscrupulous’ agent back in Kohat (Pakistan). How’s he going to afford a room in Doha that is affordable on the roof?”

“When he’s new, he’s just been told how much is he paying for the temporary ‘shelter’,” Jaleel said. “They are not asking for money right now but with my first pay, I will chip in with whatever I can for using the house’s toilet and kitchen.”

Another ‘tenant’, Mohamed, said: “Two years ago I asked the owner of this ‘house’ to allow me to build an additional room and after his approval went ahead with the ‘brick and mortar operations to make my own money.

“But once the room was ready, he increased the monthly rent of the whole place from QR1,200 to QR3,500.”

Mohamed said that complaints about high rents would lead to eviction threats. “But where will we go?” he asked.

And Mohamed is not keen about living in a room filled with ‘bunk beds’ because “they offered little privacy.”

“That’s not an option for some kind of person that on the move and keeps moving all night? How am I going to get a sleep when I travel around and go and sleep under the open sky,” regardless of how humid it is,” Mohamed said.

Rahman, a long-time Doha resident, had an explanation why some people take to living on the roof.

“Most of us have houses in northern Pakistan next to snow-capped mountains. Those who are new to Doha suffer from severe allergic reactions, thanks to the dust, and would not want to infect their roommates,” said Rahman.

The Northern Areas of Pakistan are the second most glaciated place on Earth after the North Pole.

“We do seek medical attention but air-conditioners or even fans trigger reactions in newcomers. It’s best for them to sleep on the roofs. Nobody actually forces them. I’ve myself slept on the roof in torrid heat during winters and rain,” Rahman remarked.