Holy Cat!

Yusuf Islam is in town. He was formerly known as Cat Stevens; he gave up his musical career when he embraced Islam in 1977. He is making music once again, and in fact is an ardent supporter of it. The difference for him seems to be that music should be meaningful to be virtuous, …not that his old stuff wasn’t of course. It sounds like the main reason he gave it up was that he had had enough of the lifestyle of a pop star and all that that entailed, so he settled down, got married and had some kids.

Soon the kids needed an education, and he didn’t want to entrust the state with that task. There weren’t many private Islamic schools in those days in England, so he started one of his own. Over time, one became several, and now he helps start them all over the world. He develops and distributes curriculum as well, and apparently has made a good go of it. Now we know what he has been doing with himself all these years. He is school principal.

His music these days is spiritually focused, and it sounds like he is redoing some of his old songs as well. We saw him a couple of times, he was ostensibly here to raise money for a school, and to assist with curriculum for an existing school here in Doha. He spoke about Islam and education , but he didn’t sing for us. He did show a video of some of his recent works though.

He is an impressive guy, very centered and focused. He has a certain sincerity about him. He spoke eloquently about Islam. His theme on the last night was the Oneness of God, and how we all reflect God’s attributes. He especially emphasized the concepts of peace, love and mercy. He was not exactly critical, but sort of artfully chided muslims for not displaying these virtues in common practice. He was rather like a velvet hammer, forceful but gentle. These are core Islamic spiritual values, but they are not what outsiders think of when they think of Islam, and for that, the muslims are responsible.

The first event we went to was a fund-raising banquet. It was hilarious! The crowd was small (a large crowd is nearly impossible in this country, except for the Gulf Cup), so we actually got to talk to him. The way fund-raising works in Qatar, is that banquet tickets are cheap, probably at-cost, so everyone who wants to can attend. Next, a handful of extremely wealthy people write Very Big Checks, and everyone else just enjoys the event. Part of the event was an auction, they sold donated items including an E-series Mercedes and jewelry formerly owned by the wife of the Shah of Iran. My wife was interviewed on Al-Jazeera, I guess it went international. All in all it was big fun. Check this website for a few pictures… http://www.msnusers.com/qatarblog
As these things usually go, I knew a whole bunch of people in the audience. Doha is really a small town when you get down to it.

I haven’t been writing much lately, my wife is fine regarding the infection, but she still gets daily wound care. We are also in the last days of her pregnancy, lots of pre-labor stuff. She may give birth at any time now. I think we are ready.

Pictures

I have been having trouble posting pictures. I can't seem to get the html right, so for now I will keep pictures on a separate site. While that isn't an ideal solution, it'll have to do for the moment. Here they are :

http://www.msnusers.com/qatarblog/

Hit "pictures" to see the complete inventory (23 pictures so far) this will also show you the numbers. The first ones are of a banquet with Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens. Others are typical of the newer, nicer houses that are being built everywhere around here. None are exceptional, I will post pictures of the really amazing houses at another time.
The one numbered (052) is a picture of a traditional Qatari house, what most folks lived in before the recent natural gas development. More than half the population still lives in these. They are much nicer on the inside. In the background is a mosque.

Superbugs

I haven’t written in awhile. We had a health crisis here. My wife came down with an aggressive infection and had to be hospitalized. Things seem better now, thank God. She continues to receive outpatient IV anti-biotics. Her infection started as impetigo, a skin infection that affects primarily children. Our daughter came down with it, and then we all developed a couple of pimple-like boils. My wife must have scratched one of hers, and introduced MRSA, which quickly formed an abcess.

We had the abcess drained, then she didn’t respond to her antibiotics. The wound culture took two days to come back (standard); it was no surprise that it was MRSA, a resistant strain of staph. By this time her arm was hot and swollen (cellulitus) so we got her into Hamad hospital, the big teaching hospital here, and they gave her a course of big-gun antibiotics (vancomycin). The wound itself is small and clean at this point, and in two days or so we should have her fixed up and back to normal. The baby is doing fine too.

The healthcare system here is pretty normal by western standards. The medical language is English… so there were no linguistic difficulties. They don’t isolate patients with MRSA. That is one major error on their part. I am sure that their facilities must be crawling with the stuff as a result. It’s odd too, they know the risks, and are very familiar with the organism. They claim it isn’t necessary.

The baby is due in a couple of weeks. We are almost ready. This past episode with the MRSA was kind of a setback, because we are still going to the hospital twice a day for wound care and antibiotics… not much time for anything else. I think the impetigo is finished. The rest of us have had no complications.

Camel Jockeys

Camels are inextricably intertwined with the Bedouin identity. There are plenty of camels here, despite their obsolescence for practical purposes. Great pride is taken in the ownership, breeding, training and racing of camels. Camels range freely throughout Qatar, and most highways have “camel fencing” to keep them from wandering into the roads. Night driving on roads without fencing requires appropriate caution; encounters between cars and camels are usually fatal for both parties.

All of the camels here are dromedaries. Some are indigenous to Qatar, but many are brought in from Oman or the Sudan. Camels from different regions are prized for their varying traits. Camels come in assorted colors… black, white, red, and brown. White camels from the Sudan are especially prized for speed. Brown are the most common.

The camel souq (market) is located just west of town. In it you will find a large number of corrals and enclosures, most with temporary, or sometimes permanent, living quarters attached. The folks here are either Bedouins trying to sell part of their herd, or Sudani trainers and staff whose job it is to train and care for the animals waiting to be sold. The quarters are simple; the guys frequently just throw a mattress out on the ground and sleep under the stars…why not? it almost never rains. There is no electricity or running water out here…too far out of town to run lines. The water problem is solved using large, elevated fiberglass cisterns and a gravity system. Water is trucked in…camels go through a lot of it.

As you walk through the souq, you’ll be invited in to see the animals if you look like a prospective buyer. Camel milk and dates are offered. The milk is rich and thick; the taste is almost the same as cow’s milk. It’s served from a large common bowl and passed around. The animals will be brought over and examined. You’ll pay attention to the teeth, examine the legs and musculature, and see how well the animal follows commands to get down, stand up, move etc.

Camel tack is simple. It’s an assortment of ropes and blankets designed to keep the rider on the camel’s back with a minimum of fuss for all concerned. The “saddle” per se is a folded blanket, with a rolled blanket behind it. The reins are attached to a simple rope bridle, and ropes run along the camel’s flanks for balance and support when mounting, dismounting, or galloping. Another indispensable piece of equipment is the camel stick. This looks very much like a very thin walking cane. The purpose of it is, when mounted, to lightly tap the animal on the neck when you want it to turn right or left, or to hit it in the flanks when you want to speed up.

Mounting a camel isn’t as hard as you would think. The first trick is getting the animal to sit down. This is accomplished by standing in front of the camel and making a loud hissing sound in the back of the throat, with your mouth open. While doing this, hit the ground briskly with your camel stick. A properly trained camel will change posture at this point. To get it to stand back up, do the same thing. My son had great fun doing this over and over. Fortunately we had a patient camel.

When the camel is down, simply climb over the withers, and hold on to the ropes along side of the saddle, your feet balance on the ropes at this point too. Hiss again and the camel stands up…just don’t let go. Once up, balance is easy. Camels have a rolling, rhythmic gait, you get used to it fast. Its actually more comfortable than a horse, and you have a lower possibility for saddle sores. Camels are reasonably amiable animals if well treated. They don’t spit or bite nearly as often as their reputation would indicate. Some are downright friendly. My kids love them.

The primary reasons for owning a camel are for racing, and pleasure riding. They are not terribly expensive to keep, owing to the fact that Qatar is blessed with cheap sources of labor and feed. Camels have a further advantage in that if they become too troublesome they are edible.

Several butchers in town specialize in camel, standard practice is to bring your own though. Camel meat is very lean. It can also be tough, but this is largely because they don’t typically slaughter the young ones (too valuable). The taste is similar to lamb or mutton, but without the fat. Camels are often ritually slaughtered for Eid al-Adha, at the end of the Haj season. The first cut is made just below the neck, and above the heart, through the animal’s sub-clavian vein.

The real value in camels here is not as food, but as entertainment. Camel racing is hugely popular and actually quite exciting. Gambling, as such, violates the tenets of Islam so people rarely bet on the animals. There is an indirect method of “gambling” though in the sense that the value of an animal skyrockets if it performs well at the track. A common hobby is to buy young camels, train them and put them in the races. A young healthy camel with decent prospects may sell for 30,000 rials ( $8000) or so. A winner in a big race may sell for a million rials. On the other hand, older camels can be cheap. A middle-aged, healthy gelding of no particular repute sells for about 3000 rials… less than $1000. Animals that can reproduce sell for more, and older animals sell for less.

Races are held in a town very near the geographical center of Qatar. The town serves virtually no other purpose. Stables are there with similar facilities as the camel souq described above, near town. One difference is that the compounds for the animals are larger and more elaborate here, with some being downright posh. The Qatari government is trying to encourage the preservation of traditional sports (camel racing, falconry, etc), so the facilities out here are leased to Qatari citizens at very reasonable rates, in effect almost anyone can afford a simple camel stable. Many folks build small houses in their compounds, and use them as weekend getaways. The desert vistas here are fabulous, especially at sunset.

The track is 10 kilometers long. Camels are distance runners, not sprinters. The course winds past the stable areas, and the land is flat, so pretty much everyone can see most of the race. This doesn’t suffice for a conscientious owner however. The usual drill is that owners drive alongside the track near the racers, barking orders into a cellphone. The jockey has a headset or some similar arrangement so that he can follow the instructions given. There is frequently more chaos in the sea of Landcruisers and Hummers cutting each other off and trying to get positions near their racers then there is in the race itself.

There is a bit of controversy surrounding the jockeys. They are boys imported from the Sudan and elsewhere. Child labor is illegal in Qatar, but camel jockeys are the sole exception. The kids are brought here without their parents, and live out near the camel stables under the care of their Qatari sponsors and the camel trainers. It’s hard to know how old they are, critics say they are as young as five, supporters claim they are mostly twelve or so. The kids I saw looked about 8-10 for the most part. Critics also say that they are poorly fed, in order to keep their weight down, so that they can perform better in the races. It’s hard to know the truth on this issue. I didn’t see any kids suffering from obvious malnutrition, but they are thin.

The risks to the jockeys mostly involve injuries sustained when falling off a camel. The kids wear helmets and pads, but at up to 30 mph over rocks and gravel this isn’t always enough. No one seems to have hard numbers either way though; it’s too small and remote an industry to really get an accurate survey. Those who want to keep the jockeys say that the risk is small, and that these kids live a better life here than they did where they came from. Many camel trainers started out as jockeys, so it could be said that they are learning a trade.

The government has ended the controversy. In a law that has been announced, but has yet to take effect (next season, they say), there will be no more camel jockeys. They are to be replaced with robots! I can’t even imagine what that will be like, but my Qatari friends have told me that they have worked very well in trials. With the human element gone, I am sure that camel racing strategies will have to change, but perhaps the sport itself will do fine. We’ll see.

My last trip to the races was as follows. The race was to be at sunrise, when it’s not yet hot. We spent the night out on the desert to be certain to catch it. No tent, we just threw an old carpet onto the sand, upwind of the stables. We were awakened by the call to prayer, and soon after, the camels were starting to assemble at the gate. Our camel is beautiful; it’s her first race. We hopped into my host’s Landcruiser, and went off to hire a jockey. Not far from the starting gate, a crowd of bedraggled boys was waiting. As each vehicle pulled through, they mobbed it, each wanting to be chosen to race.

My host chooses one he knows, skillful and small. He hops into the truck and we bring him over to our animal. He is given a helmet, pads, and a cellphone. He also gets a seemingly endless litany of rapid-fire instructions from my host and his Sudani trainer. The boy mounts the animal and we wait.

Not many animals were running that day, perhaps 40 or 50. Important races are much bigger. We had a decent starting position, but like a marathon, it really doesn’t matter where you start; all that matters is where you finish. The crowd in the stands is sparse. The real action is down along the track. We wait in the truck near our boy. A gun is shot. The camels start and so do we. My host is weaving in and out of Landcruisers, watching his camel, screaming instructions into his phone, and barely missing getting creamed by other vehicles. I don’t know how he did it, but he always seemed to know just at what precise instant to look at the road, turn, brake, whatever. In America good driving is usually defined as being accident free. In Qatar good driving means doing dangerous things without suffering any consequences (yet).

There is a large converted schoolbus with us. It contains a radio announcer who is covering the race live for Qatari radio. We tune in. There are more trucks following the racers than there are camels by far, so good spots must be fought for and defended. Our camel is doing well. She’s near the front, maybe fifth or so. We are well past the halfway mark. Our passenger leans out the window to scream something at our boy; our host grabs him and pulls him back into the Landcruiser as a truck whizzes by, narrowly missing us on the right. We keep screaming, but it doesn’t do any good; our camel starts to lag. Soon she’s just one of the crowd, and soon after that she’s really lagging.

Too much steam was burned early on, but all in all she looked good. More training needed, but it’s early in the season and the big races are yet to come. My host is satisfied. At the finish line we collect our duo, the trainer takes the camel, and my host takes the boy. He collects his gear and tells the boy to hop in the truck. We drop him off where we got him, and my host pays his fee… fifty rials. Our young charge risked life and limb for the princely sum of $13.70. The boy stares at the five ten-rial notes. He carefully handles each and every one of them, then lays them out in a row on the seat of the car. He picks them up again and shoves them into his pocket. His eyes are gleaming.

Green Mansions

The housing here is amazing. I have never seen such a diversity, or opulence, in architecture. Houses fall into three categories. First there is housing for foreigners, who are eighty percent of the population of Qatar. Accomodation for foreign workers varies widely depending upon the person’s job and country of origin. At the lower end of the scale people tend to live in apartments or rooms attached to or near their places of employment, negating the need for a commute. At the upper end, 5 or 6 bedroom villas are the norm, usually with separate accommodation for several servants. Housing may or may not be included in a person’s employment contract, depending upon the individual case. Those who do not receive housing from an employer rent a place of their own choosing.

Housing for Qatari citizens falls into two categories. The less affluent live in traditional houses. These are typically more than ten years old, though quite large and modern, but a bit non-descript from the outside. They tend to be rather boxy conglomerations of rooms and extensions, sometimes with a few external flourishes like archways or parapets. They usually run about 2000 square feet or so (200 m²); Qataris have large families, so they need space. Virtually all Qatari houses have walled yards. The traditional houses are usually one to two stories at most, and are difficult to see unless the gate is open.

More affluent Qataris, perhaps a third or more of the population, live in newer, larger houses. These incorporate a wide array of architecture styles, but most reflect some elements of traditional Arabian design. They are huge by American standards, usually 4000 square feet and up…. in many cases way up. They are at least two stories high, but often three or more. They may have large compounds walled within containing gardens, green grass etc. The outer reaches of town are filled with these places; they go on for miles.

The houses here reflect a certain aesthetic for it’s own sake, independent of function or practicality. Areas of the world that have cultivated that at any time usually become famous for it eventually (Paris, Barcelona, Rotterdam etc). Commercial construction often follows suit, and some of the new skyscrapers here are absolutely whimsical.

It is often supposed by westerners (not living here) that affluence in the Gulf is somehow limited only to a tiny well-connected elite. That is certainly not true of Qatar. While there definitely is a tiny well-connected elite here, they don’t have a monopoly on prosperity. The poorest Qatari citizens are still very well off by anyone’s standards (even “poor” Qataris have maids), and most have few material worries. An offshoot of this is that money itself is not as much of a motivator as you might expect. People care more about reputation, honor, friendship, piety, etc. than about wealth.

Construction here is probably second only to oil & gas in its importance. Materials are largely made locally, concrete, paint, even steel. Labor is imported, mostly from India. Construction costs are very low, because of the relatively inexpensive labor, thus Qatari citizens can afford great housing.

The interiors of homes are difficult for a man to see. I have been in plenty of majlises (the front room, for receiving guests) but rarely any farther. My wife has seen many more than I have. What I have seen is magnificent. Many Qataris furnish their homes with ornate Louis the 14th type stuff. Walking into some of these places is like walking into the Louvre. Also popular are traditional Bedouin style furnishings, low tables, carpets, lots of cushions and couches low to the floor. Some places even have permanent Bedouin style tents erected inside their homes, as a design feature… they sub-divide large rooms quite well. The furniture here is outrageous, and very inexpensive. You can have anything you want made, and what is available in the showrooms is outstanding. Art Deco bedroom sets, Renaissance style dining room tables, traditional Japanese furnishings…. anything you might want is here and cheap. One of the best pieces of furniture I have seen was a table with a built in telephone. The phone was this huge pearlescent antique style monstrosity built into a tall and narrow Victorian table… it was almost pointless… pointless extravagance, that goes a long way in describing Qatar.

Another thing you find here is lots of grass. There are many public parks etc, plus lots of private landscaping. Highway medians are mostly landscaped too. All of the grass is dependent upon water, and all of the water is from desalinization plants…. go figure. Water is “free” to Qataris, ie they don’t have to pay for it. Utilities are “free” for them as well. Once in a while you may find collections of westerners gathered in certain roundabouts when the grass is being cut. They are there to smell the grass.

Many Qataris have second homes in the “countryside”. They call them farms, and this is technically true, as typically they may keep some camels, horses or sheep out there. The best land looks a lot like Nevada; rocks, gravel, and sand interspersed with an occasional hardy shrub. The less fertile regions are barren moonscape like areas. The most desolate land is found in the southern reaches of the country. This is part of the Empty Quarter as it extends beyond the Saudi border. This area contains absolutely no life, and is a seemingly endless sea of 300 foot shifting dunes. Many people have gotten lost and even died there over the years. The dunes are great for sliding and jumping, some even ski on them.

The Qatari “outback” contains a lot of abandoned villages, now in ruins. These are the result of migration into the city after the oil revenue started to flow. You can still get a feel for what life in these structures must have been like. They were simple affairs of mud brick, small and Spartan. There are still Bedouins living in the country, but they don’t migrate anymore and they live in standard housing rather than tents. Many people have compared the Bedouin to “cowboys”, tough and independent ranchers who largely govern themselves. Water can be a problem in these country places, frequently it’s trucked in, and all places have a large cistern.

Some Qataris trace their lineage back to wandering Bedouins, others descend from tribes that fished and pearled along the coast. Both legacies are recent. The oil revenue didn’t make a big impact until 1973. Before that, Qatar was a forgotten backwater. Qatar is so remote that even now, it frequently is left out on maps.

Maid in Qatar

This is probably the most culturally alien society that I have ever experienced. Paradoxically, the parallels between Gulf culture and American culture are very strong. They are really quite similar in a broad sense.

Culture shock hits you hard the moment you set foot in Qatar. It’s not limited to superficialities… appearance, dress, customs etc. It goes right to the core…how people think, what motivates them, and their value system. I have lived in the first, second and third worlds; Qatar is something else entirely.

The most obvious differences of course are the superficial stuff, which in turn are predicated on deeper issues. Dress is the most striking thing you will notice. Men wear white flowing robes (called a “thobe” here) and a gutra… typical Gulf Arab headdress. Women wear abayas… long black flowing robes, and niqab, or veil, over the face. Some older women wear a small brass mask over the face instead. Male and female guests are entertained separately in a typical Qatari household. Usually the men will stay in the majlis, or alternatively the house will be divided in some fashion by closing doors. Maids may go back and forth between the two sides, or they may just stay on the women’s side, depending upon the household. Children usually go back and forth a lot! The typical Qatari woman has never met her brothers in law, though she has seen them. They have probably never seen her face.

Women drive here, work, attend university etc. They tend to be highly educated. For males, speaking to a Qatari woman is generally a faux pas. There are plenty of exceptions, for instance you may always speak to a woman in her official capacity…post office clerk or whatever. You may also speak to them over the phone to a certain extent, and you may speak to them indirectly through children. On the few occasions that Qatari women have spoken to me I have been mildly shocked, it seems so unnatural after you have been here awhile. Like most things in Qatar, these things are flexible too, custom rather than the law dictates most social protocol. As long as you aren’t impinging upon others you may more or less do as you please with these issues.

Women are very safe here (except maids). A woman in an abaya commands an enormous amount of respect from those around her. Among the poorer Asian workers she almost inspires fear. No one would dare be rude to her or touch her. The police are pretty laid back here for the most part, but one thing they won’t tolerate is rudeness towards women. Maids are another story. They are near the bottom of the social hierarchy, and as such are at risk in certain situations. The few stories I have heard regarding sexual harassment or (rarely) rape have involved maids. A couple of cases I heard about involved maids trying to flag down a ride or a taxi alone. The other thing you hear about is a maid being harassed by members of the household that employs her. Neither is terribly common though, and the embassies of these women tend to do what they can to help.

Maids usually come from, in descending order of prevalence, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Ethiopia. Each nationality has certain typical advantages and disadvantages associated with them. A minimum wage is set by the government for each nationality. Indians earn the least at QR 500 per month (minimum, you can pay them more if you wish). Philippinos get the most at QR 600 per month, though few will work for less than QR 700. Philippinos typically have the best English skills, though few know Arabic. Indonesians usually speak passable Arabic, and work cheaper than Philippinos and as such they are the most common nationality you will currently find working as maids. Indians run a close second.

The prospective employer has several options in hiring a maid. The most common is importing someone from abroad through an agency. There is a hefty fee associated with this, but it pays off over time. The disadvantage here is that you don’t get to meet your maid in advance. You may interview her over the phone in most cases, and you do get to read a resume of sorts, but it’s hard to get a feel for what kind of person she is. In this scenario she gets a two year visa, and she is yours for the duration. If you fire her you send her home, or you may transfer her sponsorship (you are her “sponsor” on her visa) to another person with the approval of the government. Single males cannot sponsor females; only families can import maids.

Another option is to hire someone who is already here, either through sponsorship transfer, or someone who has a visa on her own. This last type costs more, but is good for someone who wants a maid part-time, or for less than two years. Transferring sponsorship has its own problems. Typically this is a situation in which a maid and her sponsoring family did not get along, and you have to discern whether or not she will work out in your household.

In our own search for a maid, we eventually chose the transfer of sponsorship route. The primary responsibility of a maid in our household is to help with childcare, and with a newborn on the way, we decided that meeting the prospective maid was essential. We ran an ad in a local paper, and had an enormous response.

We selected a lady from Indonesia who was great at cleaning and cooking, and very good with the children, but as it turned out she had agoraphobia. We didn’t pick up on it at first because of language and cultural differences, we thought that she was afraid to go outside because of her visa status, the culture of the Gulf etc. A week passed, and with the help of an Indonesian phrasebook (Indonesian is actually pretty easy, btw!) we determined that she had always been this way…she was just agoraphobic. She had panic attacks when we asked her to accompany us to parks, restaurants etc. We tried to compromise a bit on it, but the fact is we needed someone who could go out with us at least once in a while. After a little more than a week we had to send her back to her sponsor (who in turn would have to palm her off to someone else, or send her home). A fee is usually involved in visa (sponsorship) transfers, so it’s likely that a maid’s sponsor will try to minimize her faults. This experience only confirmed our desire to hire someone that we had already met, we were thankful that we had not brought her over ourselves.

Our next prospect is now our maid. We are still clearing up her visa status, but those things take time. Her name is Norcaida. She is from the Phillipines, … a muslim, from Mindanao. She is unmarried, which was one of our criteria, so we are not separating a family (a woman with grown children would have been acceptable too). She is great with the children, can read to them… a major coup! And she can’t cook worth a darn… oh well. As we speak I am the official cook, but at least I have a bottle-washer. She has a separate apartment out back. So far we are getting along fine, and the kids love her.

The Move

We flew to Qatar via Paris last March. It’s approximately 24 hours from a random location in the states to Qatar, counting transfers and customs. A 24-hour flight leaves you feeling like you just got beaten up! One thing we learned, is that when traveling with children, it is much easier to break the flight up into two distinct segments, rather than just blast through. On our vacation this past summer we stopped in Paris for few days each way. It worked beautifully…we were never in the plane more than 8 hours at a time, and the kids loved it. Incidentally, Paris is a great place to make an impromptu stopover; free shuttles take you directly from the terminal to a series of inexpensive hotels, which in turn are connected to the train stations.

We first arrived in Doha with our luggage plus several large boxes that we had checked through…. boxes of the maximum size allowable ……20x20x20. This was an effort to minimize shipping. We still shipped just over a metric ton of stuff, mostly books, toys and kitchen things. Our house is furnished, so furniture was largely unnecessary. The shipment arrived about six weeks after we did. Everything was more or less intact, but two boxes of kitchen stuff never made it into the shipping crate somehow (that means that the problem happened in the states). Thank you Allied Van Lines… Fortunately nothing truly essential was lost.

If I were to do it again, I would take far less. I was told before we came that everything you might ever need is available here…it’s true. Eighty percent of the population of Qatar is expatriate workers. Virtually every country on Earth has workers here of some sort… the majority are from India, but there are also plenty from the Philippines, Thailand, Sudan, Morocco, Russia, Australia, you name it. The local merchants try to please as many of these folks as possible with their selection of goods, so you find an incredibly rich array of consumer products from every corner of the globe. You can live very simply here, or, you may live almost exactly as you did back home (wherever that may be). Prices tend to be pretty good too. There are very few taxes of any sort in Qatar, and labor is fairly cheap (imported labor), so many things cost less here than they would at home.

Our house is spacious and furnished. It’s two stories, approximately 2000 square feet or maybe a bit more, with a maid’s quarters. It was pretty dirty when we arrived, and work started immediately, so it was a chore getting it in shape. Cleaning services are available here for very little money. For $150 you can get about 50 man/hours of intense cleaning, including equipment and supplies. When we arrived, the refrigerator was fully stocked, that was nice.

The house is typically Arabian. It has a majlis… a room in the front to host guests…while the rest of the house can be closed off. The house can also be divided for those times when separation of the sexes is warranted, for instance when entertaining Qataris. There is also this odd little walkway at the top of the stairway. This is for communicating with those in the majlis without actually being seen. An unmarried daughter for instance could speak to a potential suitor this way. The ceilings are very high, there is tile everywhere. Overall, we are very happy with our housing.

Taxis in Qatar must be very nearly the cheapest on Earth. When we first arrived we had no car, and taxis were how we got around. They cost about $0.56 plus $0.14 per kilometer. Operating a vehicle yourself costs about the same. There is no public transportation here, aside from the taxis. There are plans, I am told, for bus lines and more eventually. Most employers offer their employees free transport to work and back, so public transportation hasn’t been a priority. Gasoline here is about $0.70 per gallon (QR 0.65-0.70 per liter), and comes in 90 and 97 octane. Soon after arriving we rented a car, not a bad option for getting around, and after returning from our summer trip we bought a new van.

Our van is a 2005 Hyundai H1. We love it! It seats 9 people in a variety of changeable configurations, and its huge! It cost just over $16000 US. Oddly, it was the first of its kind sold in Qatar, as the 2004’s were of a different design, and the 9-seater had not been formerly available in Qatar.

Driving in Qatar is a bit of an experience. The roads are wide and modern and a roundabout rather than a traffic light serves most intersections. The skill level of drivers here varies widely. For many expatriates, Qatar is their first experience at driving. Driving schools here do a booming business. Unfortunately, this presents its own hazards. Another anomaly here is that because of its harbor location, the city is planned around concentric rings of streets, rather than a grid; as a result streets often join at strange angles, and it is easy to lose your bearings at first.

The plan of the city follows more of an American developmental model than European. Everything is very spread out. Doha has more in common with LA than Paris, and a car is a must. Personal taste plays a role here. Qataris prefer BIG houses with large, walled yards for privacy. This means that population density will not exceed suburbia-type levels in areas where Qataris live. Ex-pats from India and elsewhere tend to live in apartments, and the center of the city is quite dense. There is actually a housing shortage at the moment, and construction is booming. Qatar is hosting the Asian games in 2006, and the run-up to that is partially responsible for the current wave of construction.

I am told that within a few years the corniche…. The main road along the coast that runs through Doha, will be full of skyscrapers. There are plenty as it is. The corniche maintains a fair balance between development and public parks, and most buildings are on the inland, rather than coastal side of the road, meaning that you can see the water as you drive along it.

The water here is a perfect, radiant turquoise blue…except when it’s this surreal green. Marine life is plentiful, and the sea looks healthy. Fishing is a major industry. The fishing boats are traditional Arabian dhows that have been motorized. They are still made of wood, not fiberglass. Fishermen make their own crab and lobster traps by weaving wire. Most crew comes from India, and they tend to live aboard their craft. Pleasure boating is slowly catching on, but so far you won’t find things crowded.

Qatar may be home to some of the only thriving shopping malls in the world. Where I am from, malls have been dying a slow and miserable death for years. Usually they are replaced with outdoor shopping centers featuring Wal-marts and dollar stores, an indication of the state of the economy as much as shopping preferences I guess. I haven’t seen a crowded shopping mall in the states in at least ten years. Here in Doha, they are packed! I suppose the Gulf in general in a natural for shopping malls because of the climate.

I now know what happens to American clothing labels that don’t sell in US outlet stores… they send them to Gulf outlet stores. The best outlet shopping I have ever seen is right here. You can get great Eddie Bauer pants, etc for about $5. Kids clothing is insanely cheap too. I don’t buy western labels for them; the stuff made for this market is generally better quality. You wouldn’t believe the little girl’s dresses especially, they are very elaborate, and full of lace and bows etc. People would stop us in the streets in Paris and want to take pictures of my daughter.
Tailors are cheap here too. For about $20-$30 you can have a complete outfit made…. made very well in fact. My wife had all of her maternity clothes made here, and she says that they are the best she’s ever worn. We wear both western and traditional clothing here, depending upon the occasion. Those who seem to adapt best to this environment tend to be shape-shifters.

At this point, we are fully moved in. We have a vehicle, and my son attends school. We have addressed most of the bureaucratic issues surrounding the move, shipping, customs, immigration etc. We have a home telephone and internet access (that was a tale in itself), and we have hired a maid. Aside from buying some furniture etc in the near future, we are, for the most part, settled.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! A little background first, we are an American family that recently moved to Doha, Qatar. We have two children, a boy who just turned 5, and a girl, who is two. Number three is on the way, due in January. She is a girl, and we are looking forward to meeting her soon.

Our decision to leave the United States was motivated by our frustration at the current mood of belligerent nationalism there, and with the violence sponsored by the Bush administration. No longer wanting to contribute to a regime that kills civilians, tortures captives, and at the same time espouses “moral values”, we sought accommodation elsewhere (under what circumstances is it ever moral to murder children?).

We actually left in late March, long before Bush’s reinstatement. It was rather like “pre-boarding for families with young children”. We assumed the worst, that we would in fact, be facing four more years of this nonsense, so we wanted to be well established in our new home before it actually happened. We weren’t long in Qatar before summer came, and we returned to the states to visit and tie up some affairs. We have been back in Doha since late August. All in all, things have worked out well. We had enough time to assess that this was a good move, and had an option to return or go elsewhere if it wasn’t.

You can’t fully escape the United States. Their reach is global, and their wars and destruction dominate the news and discussion worldwide. On the other hand, we decided we wanted to raise our children in an environment free of willful lies and propaganda. We were seeking a place where our neighbors don’t watch Fox News, and where common folk are well informed and abhorred by the reports of American genocide in Iraq and elsewhere. We also didn’t want to contribute our money or our skills to the American war machine.

Why Qatar? It does seem a rather odd choice at first, especially considering the American military presence here. We chose it because it has most of what we were looking for in a new home, a booming economy, a high degree of personal liberty, modern facilities, low taxes and interesting people. If they could put in a few mountains and some rain forest, it would be perfect!

Some would question the “liberty” part. While Qatar is a monarchy, the Emir is a pretty reasonable guy, and for the most part you can do as you please here, within the limits of common sense. You definitely get the feeling that you are on your own here. There are not nearly as many rules and regulations as there seem to be in the US. In the US nearly every facet of life either has to conform to some federal standard, or is dictated by fear of liability. In Qatar, you are responsible for your own safety and well-being, and you must live with the consequences of your own decisions.

Safety issues are the most obvious thing that comes to mind here. Here in Qatar I see every single toy that I grew up with in the 70’s that is now banned in America. It’s great! Traditional swingsets, with real metal slides and carriage swings, superballs, tops, traditional playpens and cribs, hoppity-hops, toys with cords long enough that a kid can actually pull them along, it’s all here. Most of this stuff btw, is perfectly safe under proper supervision, it’s just that it’s not idiot-proof. In the states, even an idiot can hire a lawyer (and win).

A typical day around town with the kids may include pony rides, jumping on trampolines (with or without bungy cords), boat rides in the harbor, a great zoo where you can see the animals up close (the chimps could grab you, if you’re not careful), roller coasters (indoor even!), trips to the livestock and camel markets, sliding down sand dunes, or playing at one of the ubiquitous playgrounds. This is a fabulous place for kids, and most activities are either very inexpensive or free.

Qataris adore children. Yeah ok, everybody else in the world says they love kids too, but Qataris really mean it. The amount of attention and genuine affection showered on kids here is remarkable. Not only does society tolerate children, they cater to them, and their parents. Many department stores have babysitters, or children’s areas, restaurants are almost universally kid-friendly. It’s amazing, people who have met my kids only once remember their names months later. It’s common enough to walk into a toystore and have your child be given an expensive toy from a perfect stranger. Strangers give candy here too.

Crime is almost non-existent. The primary reason is that the overwhelming majority of folks here are observant muslims. If people truly believe that we will have to answer to God one day for our actions, their actions will reflect that accordingly. You can fairly well gauge a nation’s spiritual health by looking at its crime rate, and the nature of the crimes that occur. Here in Qatar, other factors that keep crime down are the relative prosperity of the nation, and the fact that foreigners may face deportation to their home countries if they run afoul of the law. Foreign workers are here by choice… why mess up a good thing?

Few people here lock their doors or their cars. I have never heard of a case of burglary or robbery. The paper recently ran a story about a taxi driver who was trying to return a large amount of money that was left in his cab…refreshing.
This is a society where people know their neighbors and frequently bring them food (thanks neighbors!). It’s a place where kids can be kids, and where older kids tend to mentor the younger ones, instead of teasing or bullying them. Living here is similar to what I imagine the US was like in the 1950’s.