An outdoor fridge stocked with free cold drinks and snacks. A tap that flows with free laban. An initiative to ensure residents who work outdoors are sufficiently hydrated.

Small acts of kindness such as these often go overlooked when it comes to the dominant media narrative of Qatar as human rights abuser, Doha News assistant editor Victoria Scott points out in her latest post for the Telegraph’s expat section.

Scott acknowledged that “no amount of free food or drink is going to change” the need for an overhaul of the system, so that working and living conditions are improved for Qatar’s most vulnerable.

But she added that attempts by residents – from all walks of like – to reach out to each other are having more of an impact than they’re given credit for.

She continues:

“It’s easy to live in a bubble here, skirting around each other in the shops and on the roads, and keeping to our own ‘kind,’ the familiar, when socialising.

It’s easy to drive in an air-conditioned 4×4 past a bus-load of exhausted labourers returning to their camp at the end of their shift, cooled only by open windows blasting humid, dusty air, and pretend not to see. In fact, life is more comfortable that way.

That’s why these acts of selflessness, big and small, worthy and (in my case) embarrassingly unworthy – make me hopeful. Through them, the people of Qatar – and by that, I mean people of all races and creeds – are showing that they really are seeing each other. They build bridges between us. And in an incredibly divided society, bridges are a powerful thing.”

Have you ever experienced an act of kindness that’s changed your perspective on things in Qatar?

Thoughts?