By Peter Townson
A US citizen who came to work in Qatar three years ago has been left homeless, jobless, penniless and prohibited from leaving the country after taking out a bank loan to pay for his mother’s cancer care.
Kenneth Green had borrowed a huge sum of money in order to help his mum when she was diagnosed with prostrate and lung cancer, but then he lost his job and his world came crashing down around him.
Because he is unable to work he cannot repay the loan – and unable to repay the loan he cannot leave the country to look for work.
Kenneth originally came to Qatar to take up the post of basketball coach for one of the country’s major sports clubs. He told Gulf Times that he was in his second year of employment when he discovered his mother needed specialist cancer treatment.
Without hesitation he took out a considerable bank loan in order to pay for her travel and treatment at a number of hospitals in the US as well as France and Austria.
Sadly, despite the best efforts of medics, Kenneth says his mum passed away in 2005 – and more bad news soon followed.
Despite reaching two cup finals with his first club, the 40-year-old’s coaching contract was terminated; so he moved to another coaching post. However, in February of this year Kenneth was let go following disappointing performances from his team.
“Obviously, as in any sport, the first person to get blamed for a team’s poor performance is the coach,” he explained.
Unfortunately for Kenneth when his job went so did his home and his car and the unemployed coach even found himself living on the streets for a time.
“I was previously living in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom villa which was fully furnished with a swimming pool on the compound,” he explained.
“But since losing it I have had to sleep in an abandoned house with no windows or doors.
“The first people I turned to were my family in the US, but because of the economic situation at home they were only able to support me for around the first three months – they simply have no more to give.”
Kenneth’s sister Doris Richardson, a single mum, has been doing her best to support her brother through the difficult times he now faces in Doha, but her mortgage payments have increased to such an extent that she is finding it difficult to make ends meet for herself and her family in the US. Nevertheless, she still gives what she can afford to help Kenneth clothe and feed himself whilst stranded here.
In desperation, Kenneth has also contacted a number of authorities as well as the US embassy who he said responded by stating that they “do not get involved in personal situations”.
And so since February he has been spending his days searching for jobs in Qatar, but with a lack of experience in any career unrelated to basketball his search has so far proved fruitless.
Kenneth is currently living in a hotel where the management has agreed to let him stay until he can afford to pay off his bill. However, as his time here unemployed continues to extend, things are getting more difficult, and he is worried that the hotel may not put up with the present arrangement for much longer.
“They have been generous because I have given them money when I have had any,” he said. “But now it has been a month and they are starting to push the issue.”
Kenneth says he is now in a catch 22 situation: he cannot pay off the loan whilst in Qatar because he has no job, and he cannot leave the country to find alternative employment until he pays off the loan.
However, he remains philosophical about the predicament he finds himself in.
“Although this is an ugly situation, I am getting through it,” he said. “I am not begging anyone for anything – I would simply appreciate some advice on how to get myself in a position to be able to pay back the loan.”
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