The Maid Saga

Sarita with Axel's friend Brad at the KTM airport in March

At first, we thought Sarita (our Nepali maid) could join us when we moved to Qatar. Everyone we spoke to said it was not going to be a problem. She could arrive with a tourist visa and later be sponsored by us. Easy.

Wrong.

We stayed in Nepal for an extra week in hopes that the special people in government would grant her a visa. We realized it wasn't going to happen and we left the following day to Qatar in hopes that we could take care of her visa in Doha. Two weeks, tops.

Nope.

Weeks and months passed and we were constantly told that everything could be done for Sarita after my visa was granted. After I received my visa it was going to be so simple.

Yeah, right.

Three weeks ago I went through the final stages of my visa (blood samples and chest X-rays). It was all completed and they were quickly moving on getting Sarita's paperwork done. Surely after this, it was only a matter of days.

Um, no.

Nepali maids are rare here. There are about 200K Nepali males working in Qatar, but it is unusual to meet a Nepali woman. Chances were slim that she would have been approved, but 5 days ago we received word that her visa was ready to go. It was just a matter of getting her here.

Try again.

Axel and I were so ready for her to arrive. We had been paying her to insure her commitment to us and sending her on various errands for us. She would call frequently telling us that she was bored and couldn't wait to get here. We bought her a ticket from Kathmandu to Doha only 5 hours on a plane and she would be here.

Yeah, not really.

Hours before her flight, someone called from Nepal to tell us that we needed special paperwork for her to exit the country. Not for Doha, but for Nepal. They advised us to go to the Nepali Embassy in Doha and fill out the paperwork. It was going to take several more weeks at the very least. We raced to the embassy because a long holiday was about to begin. We had only a few hours before the Embassy was closed for over a week.

Luckily, we arrived before they closed and Axel spoke with the Secretary to the Ambassador. Axel explained his situation and the Secretary said, 'Look, there is no way to get her out of Nepal as a single maid. You will have to fill out a ton of paperwork, it will take a long time, and in the end, she will still not be able to leave. Instead, have her go through India. That is the only way to get her out. It is fast and easy and everyone does it.' Thank goodness. Now all we needed to do was buy her a ticket via Delhi. It was going to be an extensive and painful trip with long layovers but at least she could get out.

Not this time.

Sarita boarded a plane headed for Delhi on Friday afternoon. She had a long layover (9 hours or so) and then it was a short flight to Doha. Easy. She was planned to arrive at 7am Saturday morning. Our family was so excited. This long, excruciating process was finally going to be over.

Until, 3am Saturday morning when we received the call.

Sarita presented her papers to the Indian customs and because her Qatari visa added an extra number to her recorded passport number, they denied her. When we got the phone call from her at the airport, we both went white and felt completely sick to our stomachs. I couldn't fly to Delhi to get Sarita because every American/Canadian needed a visa to enter India. I couldn't book her a flight back to KTM because it was 3am and everything was closed. She had very little money and no phone. I had never felt so hopeless in all my life. The only option Axel and I had was to pray for her and hope that a solution would come to us--and quick.

Axel immediately (4am) went to the Doha airport to tell them of their mistake but because it was a big Muslim holiday, there was nothing open. We couldn't wire her money until everything opened. So there she sat.

After 5 hours of brainstorming and phone calls, Axel remembered he had an Indian friend who lived in Kuwait and maybe he would know someone in Delhi who could give her a place to sleep and eat. As Axel began talking, he found out that his friend was actually in Delhi at that moment and he was more than willing to help Sarita out. He went to the airport, found Sarita, and took her to his beautiful home and introduced her to his family and his Nepali maid. After we heard that, Axel and I could sleep and eat again. Until that point, we were both in shock.

Tomorrow morning the Department of Interior is supposed to be open and we will make them aware of their ridiculous mistake. All of this because of a typo. It is hard not having a particular individual to blame. Instead, we need to move on and once we get everything cleared, she will be on the next plane.

In Sh'allah.