Doha News

Nineteen people, including 13 children, were killed in a that fire broke out at Villaggio Mall Monday morning, according to officials (yesterday’s live blog here). Details about the cause of the blaze are still unknown, but as Qatar struggles to pick up the pieces, we’ll provide the latest information we have here.

UPDATE | 12:54pm:

More details on the second fire today, at the Fatima bent Waleed bin Al Muqeera Primary School for girls, located in Muaither.

We spoke with Maryam Al Maadeed, whose mother is the principal of the school. She said a malfunctioning A/C unit caught on fire around 10am and badly damaged the administration office before it was put out.

No one was injured, although some girls appeared to have fainted from the commotion.

Pic of fire in fatma school .. twitter.com/AlMaadeedMarya…

— Maryam AlMaadeed (@AlMaadeedMaryam) May 29, 2012

UPDATE | 12:26pm:

There’s been reports of two smaller blazes today - so far - as concerns continue about the country’s fire preparedness.

@dohanews Qatar Aeronautical College is on fire and authorities put of anotheir fire at Fatima Bint AlMogeera School. #Villagiofire

— Mohammed Al-Jufairi (@Halawala) May 29, 2012

We’re being told that no one was injured at the Aeronautical College fire, which may have been started by an air conditioner malfunction. It isn’t clear what caused it.

 Here are some photos Omar al-Dafa has been sharing from there:

If you know more about either incident, let us know on editor@dohanews.co

UPDATE | 10:50am:

A lot of people who were at the mall when the fire broke yesterday have been telling us they didn’t understand the severity of the situation.

One Doha resident, Paula Rodrigues Duarte, posted on our Facebook page, saying she was visiting Villaggio with her 21-month old child:

The thing that upsets me most is that no one told us to leave 10min into the fire. Not security or police. I was actually walking towards it unknowingly till I saw people running back and turned around and left. No alarms, no sprinklers, nothing. Apparently the staircase to nursery collapsed making it impossible to reach the babies except through the roof but by then it was too late. Tragic and incomprehensible. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased.

UPDATE | 10:25am:

 

Additionally, fires are constantly reported in Qatar, contributing to residents’ and officials’ lackadaisical attitudes about fire alarms.

In the past few months alone, there have been blazes at the Doha Rugby Club, City Center Mall (whose food court remains closed) and a secondary school in Wakra.

UPDATE | 10:13am:

The Peninsula has some details about Mahmoud Haidar and Hossam Chahboune, the two firefighters who died:

Braving the inferno, Mehmood saved two lives as he rescued the duo to safety.

Soon after handing the duo to paramedics, he returned to the nursery where the fire had become more intense with clouds of thick black smoke billowing.

Mehmood wasn’t lucky this time as having been caught in the cloud of smoke, he suffocated…Houssam, 22, also died saving people who were caught in the blaze.

UPDATE | 10:01am: 

Al Jazeera English posted their video report of the fire earlier this morning, which includes footage from the scene, as well as comments from the Ministry of Interior’s press conference:

UPDATE| 9:47am:

Although Villaggio is closed indefinitely, the roads around it are open, Tweeples are reporting.

Meanwhile, shell-shocked residents are in the process of comforting their friends and hugging their children more tightly than ever before. An excerpt from blogger Kirsty Rice:

When I was choosing child care my criteria was pretty standard. I wanted it to be clean, I wanted good staff, great facilities, fun activities, and most of all I wanted the first little traveler to enjoy it.

These are the things I didn’t check for.

I didn’t ask to see the emergency evacuation procedure. I didn’t ask if the staff were trained in the event of a fire, and I didn’t ever once consider to check the exits or stairwells. I just assumed that of course they were trained, of course they knew what to do! I didn’t once consider that I would find myself racing to that mall pleading to get inside to find my baby girl. For that is the unthinkable, the unimaginable.

UPDATE| 9:17am:

We’re still working on our list of the dead. Here’s who we have so far:

• Hana Sharabati, 3 years old
• Mahmoud Haidar, Civil defense
• Shameega Charles, 28, South Africa
• Omar Emraan, 18 months old, South Africa
• Hossam Chahboune, Moroccan firefighter
• Lillie, Jackson and Willsher Weekes (triplets, 2 years old, New Zealand)
• Maribel Orosco, teacher, Philippines
• Margie Yecyec, teacher, Philippines
• Julie Ann Soco, teacher, Philippines

We also received this note from the mother of one of the deceased teachers last night:

My daughter Shameega Charles, aged 29 was a teacher at Gympanzee and perished in the blaze. My condolences to all the other families who lost loved ones in this tragedy. We pray that God Almighty makes it easy on all of us.

Her 5 year old son misses her dearly and was looking forward to her upcoming visit in August.We have still not been able to tell him of his mother’s passing.

Regards, Maryam Charles

Credit: Photo courtesy of Interior Ministry

Excitement turned to panic turned to horror yesterday as word of a fire at Villaggio - and potential deaths - spread across Qatar.

After a frantic day of scrambling for news about what happened, who was hurt and how officials were handling the situation, the grim facts were finally announced: 19 dead - 13 children, four teachers and two civil defense officers.

But residents are waking up today with more questions than there are answers.

What was the cause of the fire? Why did it take so long to put out? Who will be held responsible for Villaggio’s malfunctioning sprinkler and fire alarm systems? How long will the mall be closed for?

And the most difficult question of them all: What now?

Today, at least, Qatar knows what it will be doing: mourning the 19 people it lost in yesterday’s fire. Visiting the more than dozen people who remain in the hospital. Cleaning up the mess the fire left behind.

But what about tomorrow, and beyond?

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo courtesy of Rashid/Adabisc

In what some are calling a media vacuum, a community tries to sort out what’s happening.

From initial reports of smoke in Villaggio to alarming news that children were trapped inside the burning building, Yasser Khan takes us through the day and the global reaction to the tragedy.

Nineteen expats have been killed, including 13 children and 2 firefighters, in a fire at Villaggio Mall that residents are calling Qatar’s biggest tragedy in recent memory.

Seventeen additional people were injured, 13 of whom remain in the hospital, officials said. 

The cause of death for many of the children - six boys, seven girls - and the four teachers was suffocation due to smoke inhalation, the health minister said.

Officials are investigating the cause of the fire, which started around 11am in or around the Gympanzee nursery that trapped more than 20 children and staff members in the mall.

Though officials said response time was quick - Al Fazaa was on the scene one minute after receiving a call about the fire - lack of floorplans, thick smoke and heat and malfunctioning sprinkler systems severely inhibited rescue efforts.

Firefighters eventually had to go in through the roof, officials said, adding that rescue teams had not been initially alerted to the fact that many of those trapped inside were children.

“We tried our best, but when we got there, the children were trapped inside. We are very sorry for what happened. We tried as much as we could to save these people,” the minister of state said.

No mall officials were available to speak at a press conference Monday night, but unconfirmed reports say that two managers have been arrested and may face charges in court tomorrow.

And the state minister has said a higher committee will be formed to follow the matter of safety requirements at buildings.

The health minister said an official list of the dead will not be released, but media reports say three New Zealanders, four Spanish children and a French child were among those killed.

Doha News is trying to compile one to help the community mourn collectively.

Villaggio Mall will be closed indefinitely pending a thorough investigation and to make necessary repairs, officials said.

Credit: Photo by Rashid/Adabisc

Qatar’s residents tend to be more optimistic than the majority of people in the MENA region, a survey conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov has found.

Around half of people surveyed in Qatar said they believe that their own financial situation and that of the country’s will improve over the next 12 months, the May 2012 Middle East Consumer Confidence Index said.

And almost a third (32 percent) said they believe that there are “plenty of jobs available,” compared to the regional average of 12 percent.

But 57 percent said they believed their salaries have not kept pace with the rising cost of living, and nearly half (46 percent) say their compensation is inadequate.

Still, more than half described their job satisfaction as “neutral” or “high.” And 67 percent said the same thing about perceived job security.

One of the most indicators of confidence in the economy is consumer spending. 

Gulf Times reports:

More than a third of residents are expecting to purchase a vehicle in 2012, and more than a quarter are considering investing in the real estate sector. The most popular anticipated purchases in terms of household items are laptop and desktop computers, furniture and LCD or plasma televisions.

The index states the sample size for Qatar was low, which means results could be indicative as opposed to representative of sentiment in the country.

But the figures collected by Bayt.com over the past five years support the sentiment that things are perceived to be better here compared to many countries in the region.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by kandyjaxx

As Qatar’s temperature rises, so too are hemlines at Qatar’s malls, according to a story in local Arabic newspaper Al Raya.

In an article published last week, author Aisha Buhadi asserts that more expat women are wearing short shorts and miniskirts - in violation of expectations of modest dress - and are creating friction with locals.

Here’s a translated excerpt from the story: 

(Qatari women) confirm that the scene has become provocative towards the feelings of many shoppers, and has often pushed some of them to directly criticise the women who don’t respect the customs and traditions of the conservative Gulf society.

And sometimes, the discussion turns into a heated dialogue, that ends up with the Qatari woman insisting that the naked (skimpily dressed) foreign women leave the shopping mall for violating the instructions that call for modest dressing.

This forces the mall security to take the indecent foreigner outside the shopping mall.

Al Raya’s English-language sister publication Gulf Times touches on that story again today, with a salesperson telling the newspaper that “displaying mini skirts and shorts and matching blouses is a must because they are very much in demand.”

Sheikh Tariq al-Kubaisi, referred to as a cleric, is meanwhile insisting that such attire “is a sign of loose morals and it must be checked by the authorities.”

It certainly isn’t the first time the issue of what constitutes appropriate dress in Qatar have been raised.

Just three months ago, a user posted on popular community forum Qatar Living that she was harassed at Villggio Mall for the way she was dressed.

What do you make of all this? Has what’s considered “appropriate” to wear become a bigger issue in Qatar? 

Credit: Photo by Omar Chatriwala

Though Qatari women comprise the majority of local college graduates, only  35 percent of female nationals work.

Faced with a massive shortage of skilled nationals, Qatar has set ambitious targets to increase their participation to 42 percent by 2016.

To do that, researchers are launching an investigation into the ”cultural and social impediments” influencing Qatari women’s education choices, whether they enter the workforce and their career pursuits.

Family appears to play a big role, says Dr. Hanan Abdul Rahim, associate director of Qatar University’s Social and Economic Research Survey Institute, which is conducting a three-year research project called ”Kin Influences on Qatari Women’s Transitions into the Labour Force.”

The Peninsula reports:

Qatari women’s labour force participation rose from 14 percent in 1986 to 34 percent in 2006, but it has been relatively stable since, and it is lower than neighbouring Arab countries like the UAE and Kuwait. Moreover, women who are employed tend to concentrate in certain professions, mainly teaching and clerical jobs…

“The researchers will interview young women at two points in time, which will enable us to track changes in their schooling and employment choices. They will also interview their parents, because that parental attitudes and roles have strong influences on women’s educational and work trajectories,” (Abdul Rahim) said.

The research team will consist of scholars from Qatar, Canada and the United States.

Interesting!

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Frederick Noronha

*This article has been corrected to say that 35 percent of Qatari women work. It previously incorrectly stated that Qatari women make up 35 percent of the workforce here.

An increasing number of low-income workers have said they want to leave Qatar after fallouts with their employers, but are finding they have nowhere to stay while the paperwork is sorted out, an official at the Indian embassy said.

That’s because deportation centers are already at capacity, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, an Indian ambassador, recently told reporters.

Many of these men decide to go home because they have not been paid for several months or because the work they are assigned was not agreed upon in their contracts, she said.

The Peninsula reports:

It is learned that on average some 20 lowly-paid Indians are approaching the embassy every week over the past few months for help in repatriation.

Such workers were earlier able to stay on with friends or relatives waiting to be eventually let in by the detention centres, but after the Interior Ministry’s recent campaign to fish out illegal workers, no one is willing to risk providing them temporary shelter.

Under Qatari law, it is also illegal for embassies to house the men, Wadhwa said.

Meanwhile, some 41 low-income Indian workers have died of heart attacks this year. Heat stroke was cited as the chief cause behind the heart failure, embassy officials said. 

“When a young man of 25 dies of heart failure here, the cause is mostly heat stroke,” the Peninsula quoted an official as saying.

Indians are Qatar’s largest expat group, comprising more than half a million of the population. Most work in low- and middle-income jobs and many are unhappy with their living and working conditions.

Some hoped that their treatment would improve last month after the Emir made his first state visit to India since 2005, during which labor rights were reportedly discussed.

But it looks like things have not gotten better yet.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Richard Messenger