The Gulf state provided refugees and displaced people with a glimpse of the World Cup experience by setting up fan zones for the targeted communities.
Qatar’s Minister of Social Development and Family Mariam Al Misnad met on Friday with “outstanding students” from countries suffering from humanitarian challenges.
The group of at least 30 members travelled to Doha as part of the Qatar 2022 Fan zone initiative, launched during the World Cup in an effort to spread the major event’s joy to disadvantaged communities globally.
Invited by Qatar’s foreign ministry along with local and international stakeholders, the visitors are among the top scorers in the education sector. The high achievers came from different countries, including Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Somalia along with other areas covered by the initiative.
“Today, I was honoured to meet the outstanding students and learn about their inspiring stories, who are visiting Doha as part of the “Qatar 2022: Joy for All” initiative, coming from a number of countries that suffer from humanitarian challenges,” Al Misnad said in a tweet.
Rohingya youth, Salim Al-Arkani gave Al Misnad a commemorative shield to thank Qatar for its “care and attention” towards refugees and displaced persons during the World Cup.
Under the Qatari initiative, the Gulf state provided refugees and displaced people with a glimpse of the World Cup experience by setting up fan zones around the region.
The Qatari humanitarian entities that led the initiative included Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS). The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) and beIN Sports were also among the key partners of the humanitarian initiative.
The group also met with Qatar’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah Al-Khater met over the weekend.
“Each of them has an inspiring story! They came from areas full of conflict and sought refuge from different countries, but ambition brought them together to overcome circumstances and excel academically,” Al Khater said.
The visitors in Doha also got the chance to watch the third-place match between Morocco and Croatia at the Khalifa International Stadium, where they met with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and superstar ex-footballer David Beckham.
Doha News accompanied the students at the match to hear about their experience.
“This is actually the first time to be in a real stadium and it’s really different from the screens,” Mohammed Al-Samaria from Iraq told Doha News.
Al-Samaria also spoke about the stereotypes surrounding Iraq and the region that commonly portray locals as aggressive.
“This is all wrong. It is a peaceful country [Iraq], we love everyone and everyone is welcome to our countries,” he said.
Others have shared their dream of becoming future doctors and opening up hospitals as they bonded with people within their group during their journey to Doha.
