Like many expats here, Rasha Mkachar has spent most of her life in Qatar. Her family moved to Doha in 1979 to escape political instability in Lebanon, and has been here ever since.
Except lately, Mkachar’s dad keeps saying that he is ready to head “home.”
“I want to live like my grandfather. I want to have my farm and be surrounded by the world I know,” Mkachar’s father said in a video she shot for the Maisha Documentary Film Lab via the Doha Film Institute in 2012, and recently made publicly available on YouTube.
To Mkachar, this revelation hit like a bombshell.
“Had I known dad planned to go back to his grandfather’s life, I would’ve shared his dream,” she explained in the video, titled What my father never told me.
Tough choices
Mkachar now has some difficult choices to make. Staying in Qatar would require retaining family or employment sponsorship, since the path to citizenship here is restrictive at best.
Moving would mean starting over somewhere that she has never known.
Speaking to Doha News, Mkachar said she hasn’t made any decisions yet. She added that she chose to focus on this subject because it is a “classic expat dilemma.”
“I was writing about a topic that pained me and was growing heavy on my heart. I just wanted to convey a story that many shared but no one spoke about out loud.”
Are you or someone you know in the same boat? Thoughts?
The story of this young lady speaks out for thousands like her in Qatar! On the other hand, they say Lebanon is a nice place, and it’s her country, so it should turn out to be OK for her!
Has anyone been to Lebanon before? What is it like?
The problem with Lebanon is political instability and low pay. That’s why thousands of Lebanese flock to work in the Gulf. If it weren’t for the money, we’d never come here.
Isnt that the case of every expat?
No personally I’m here for the beautiful weather, the warm welcome I get from the local people ( especially on the roads when they want to be so close to me) and the extensive leisure opportunities.
Let’s car hug! 🙂
Several cars tried to do just that to me on the Doha Expressway today … I felt so honoured and touched
If that’s how it works, I don’t know who’s wife I was intimate with this morning, but… I’d like to apologise to her and her husband…
Hugging is fine, it is when the cars wish to move rapidly to much more intimate contact that I get flustered. I keep telling any land cruiser that will listen, if you want to drive up my a*%, at least buy me supper and tell me lies first.
We just want to give you a nudge on the road to get you home quicker .. That’s all 🙁 why u no like us 🙁
Thank you so much for clearing that up as I had thought it was one of the most stupid, dangerous, ridiculous practices I had seen anywhere in the world but now I know better! You certainly learn something new in Doha everyday and I am so grateful for the education that I am receiving.
What are you, a FIFA official? lol
If it wasn’t for the money , no one would have ever came to any Gulf country .
Lebanon is a small country like Qatar with a population of 4 mios people. What characterizes Lebanon is its beautiful weather ( 4 season) , beautiful mountains and beaches. It is a thousand years old civilization that started with the Phoenicians that created the Alphabet and exported it to the rest of the world from the city of Byblos a 5,000 year old city( oldest known city in the world). Beirut the capital has known the creation of the first school of law. If you like skiing, mountain climbing and hiking, grotto visiting, night life, site seeing ( Roman, Phoenician, Ottoman, Greek, Egyptian, Mamlouk etc.), food and traffic 😉 then Lebanon is definatly the place to go to.
If you like to learn more about this beautiful country; I invite you to visit the Lebanese Ministry of tourism website http://www.mot.gov.lb. I think it has everything you need. If you go, make sure to eat some hummus and tabboule among other delicious Lebanese dishes 😀
Some of your history is off but I guess you are very patriotic
No comment
Thanks for the info Jean!
most welcome
It is OK, as long as you don’t trust anybody there, don’t believe any promises made by the locals and never pay any money in advance.
What type of stereotypical racially insulting nonsense is that? and yes, I have lived in Beirut and no, I am not Lebanese. It’s got the same good and bad as any country. Caution applies everywhere, in any situation. That’s the reality.
That’s my personal experience not yours. I have had problems (overcharging, not providing the agreed services) at the hotel, at the restaurant and with taxi drivers and tour operators. Internet research shows that many tourists have encountered similar problems in Beirut. Suffice to say that I have no plans to visit Lebanon ever again.
please explain to us how u got overcharged at the restaurant? or even a hotel? knowing that a menu has the prices of the food you order and a hotel a price list per room. i think that you were not well informed. Any trip should be well planned in advance. Times magazine voted Lebanon as a number one destination to go to in 2011 i think.
Then say it’s your personal experience. Many more who visit Lebanon don’t seem to have any problem. Internet ‘research’ on any capital city in the world will give you the same result. I don’t think the Lebanese will be too upset you won’t be going again.
As Jean-Michel nicely described it is a fantastic place to visit but the political instability and weak economy makes it a hard place to live in. Especially after getting used to the lifestyle that Qatar offers
Very touching video, I can feel her pain. I myself was in the same shoe. When my Parents had to go back to India, I never actually anticipated on how emotionally attached I was to my place of birth. I grew out of it though, got a great job offer and came back. But I dreaded that my own children would go through the same pain so I decided to leave, for certain moments in life are priceless.
I left Lebanon during the 2006 war, i got to spend highschool and am finishing uni here. I can definitely relate. Although all my best memories are still back home so when i finish, i dont think itll be hard going back home. But thinking about my children being born here is something i wanna avoid. Great video.
Great Video Rasha! My father has also been here since 1979 and is leaving soon (in a couple of months), my siblings and I have asked him many of the questions you asked your dad. I think he knows your father through his business.
Too bad.
This country/region never was,is or will be ”home”. If you don’t hold a Qatari passport,you are a number,with a sponsor & you can stay as long as that number is valid. That is the plain & simple truth of it. While I fully empathize with those coming from troubled regions with political instability and/or conflict, the fact of the matter is,they know they have to leave someday,either to go back home or move elsewhere and the onus is therefore on them to prepare their families for it,sooner rather than later.
Kind of like life really!
It’s very sad.
I am a Qatari and to be honest I wish we would integrate more with the expat population. Some families have been here for generations.
It is their home, as much as it is mine and I would be happy to have them stay and be a fellow countryman. They have helped to build and contribute. I do not see the reason why they should not be allowed to stay for the long term.
And for those that argue because they cannot understand or adopt the Qatari culture; that is just ignorant and arrogant.
Many already have and even if not; what is wrong with difference and diversity…nothing.
I’m not a Qatari. I’m A Pakistani born and brought up here…just like our previous two generations, and I’m going to have a kid, inshallah, this month. That makes it four generations. Am I going to get the nationality? No. Am I expecting it? No. And I’m “ok” with it since I don’t have an option (no I’m not going to move anywhere else).
But you Sir, being a Qatari have written this, makes me proud and smile from deep inside.
I hope people like you come into rule. Not for me, I’m 30 I’m done, but for the future.
I hope the life expectancy of a Pakistani is more than 30 yrs. You’ve got miles to go.
Probably not in Pakistan……
Lol
I fully agree with you that is how it ought to be. People who have given the best part of their lives towards building a country,any country,should be given some sort of permanence,if not citizenship,permanent residence seems a good option,wherein those people may stay as long as they like without requiring a resident permit & sponsor provided they can fend form themselves either through employment or through family if they are past retirement age, this is definitely a solution but unfortunately, majority of the local population do not hold your point of view and I’m sure you would have to deal with a lot of grief if your view and identity were publicly known in local society! Having said that, respect my friend,for your point of view, if there were more Qataris like you, this would be a very different country today! May your tribe increase!
That’s easier said than done my friend. When you ‘integrate’ multitudes of people, you tend to equally integrate their culture and ways of living. How will Qatar deal with openly drinking and consumption of drugs and alcohol, prostitution, and the western life in general? Easier said than done.
Qatar is and always will be ruled by Sharia law. Giving someone citizenship or permanent residence, which as Truth101 explained the latter would be more plausible,does not mean to give it up. If someone were to become either, I would hope they had respect and understanding for our laws and people. It would be the individual’s choice to choose if living in a conservative society ruled by Sharia law is what they seek in the long run for themselves and their children and if they want to truly invest in Qatars future.
As many have said the idea is nice but the implementation and actuality are much more complex. In the end Qatar must do whatever is best for our people and I am not in the position to say what is or is not the right path.
First, there is already far more prominent prostitution in Qatar than in most western countries I have visited. To suggest that integration of other cultures is acceptance of prostitution, drug abuse and public consumption of alcohol is just plain wrong.
WHAT DILEMMA ?
I was BORN in Doha and knew from all my life I was NEVER going to be accepted by the ” LOCALS”…its their country and NO ONE ELSE is allowed in .
Me and my family MOVED to live in the US A
Same situation here. Though I love the country, it never felt like home. I want Qatar to flourish and thrive, but its political trajectory is worrying. There has been almost no efforts to improve the situation for expats and the oppressive Kafala system is still favored by the government. If the government abolished all of these oppressive policies it would be the best country in the Middle East.
The best country in the Gulf is the UAE , better socially , politically and more stablility and without the constraints that you have here.Qatar looks after it’s citizens and so it should , they have their own agenda and will never be influenced by expats . If they do there culture will be dilluted very very quickly .
Whether you’re here for 1 month or 25 years never forget we all leave eventually and to be honest everyone should .
accepted by the locals? you are accepted, as the person you are now.
“its their country and NO ONE ELSE is allowed in” , you are allowed to be in, hence the huge expat population.
I hope you are in a better place in the US.
Troll alert
You were born in Doha but quite clearly do not understand local tribal culture,as is the norm with close knit tribes anywhere in the world. You are either ”in”, related by blood or you are not,simple as that, black & white, no grey there!
Get a life girl….and explore the rest of the world. Doha is a grain of sand in the vast world beyond, loose your head scarf and enjoy the winds the world has to offer
Yes exactly her headscarf is all you got from the video. Genius that you are.
That’s not what she’s saying at all – had her father told her that he was going back to Lebanon, she would have made different college choices. The video is called “What my father never told me” not “I wish Qatar was my home forever”
She might need a headscarf if she goes to Scandinavia as it gets pretty cold in the winter
Dont think is worth a news….there are lots of expats like that here including me…nothing worth coming in doha news about!
The reason its on news is because the lady made a documentary highlighting the dilemma facing so many expats unlike you who just sat at home and went on whining.
Qatar doesn’t realise that it is punishing itself by allowing us all to stay and raise our children and then forcing us all to leave. Qatar, by doing so, is investing in us but not reaping the benefits by allowing us to invest in it. Qatar is like a train station – people passing through, never building anything but memories, making money, having great jobs and getting great education and then taking it all away. What is left to Qatar? How does Qatar build a proper country around the concept of transition? Why would Qatar allow the children who have been educated here and who love it here, to go elsewhere? Aren’t the children it’s guarantee for the future?
Don’t the people who come and stay for 15 years plus who raise their children here fully knowning the rules do this to their own children.
Qatar made no fake promises when you originally moved here for work, there was no pretence there was something more permament in the offering. In this Qatar is truly honest.
You made that decision for your family, so the only person who holds the responsibility is you.
You are right, Qatar is honest in this regard. But you are also missing Nomad’s point: I don’t think Nomad/their family had any illusions when they moved to Qatar. They are just pointing out that in this regard, Qatar is at a disadvantage.
“Qatar is at a disadvantage.”
Subjective.
You missed the point. The point is not what reality is but what it should be for the greater good of the country as a whole. But like most things here it seems to be lost on those that hold the keys.
Not really. The future sustainability of the country does depend on immigration but that is a different topic and something I have raised before. It does not necessarily follow that those who have been here a long time are the best fits to become “citizens” of this new Qatar.
Again sorry but you missed the point. When you never give anyone real long term alternatives the constant flow interrupts progress and sustainability. Like with any job you want to feel a part of the overall scheme of things not just some lemming biding you time and collecting a pay check. This breeds bad customer service and work performance. Same for where you live. If you don’t feel like you’re an integral part of society you are not vested and your feelings of any pride in where you live are greatly diminished. Because of some “hiring practices” here I live the first and honestly have no interest in the second. I could name about 165 countries I’d rather be emotionally bound to than here. But that’s just my opinion.
You are correct and something I have argued before. If their is no committment from the country there is no commitment back. Make you money, send it out if the country. A loss of capital and human resources for Qatar.
As we see in Qatar customer service is appalling. People bidding their time for when they leave.
However for people to moan on here that they deserve more because they lived here a long time is nonsense.
Most western expats probably don’t “moan” about it. While the money may not be as plentiful for some of us back home, the quality of life is certainly more for most of us back home. We have no desire to become citizen here.
From what i can tell it’s those from India, Pakistan, Egypt, Philippines etc (Syria, Iraq, Libya, Palestine, ETC ETC) where they fled poverty, political strife, religious intolerance etc, in hopes of finding a better life. They’ve found that for themselves but want to be a part of it, not just a terminal expat. Some comfort zone of a sort instead of one who is constantly under threat of having an RP voided and sent home.
They are the ones who built the country and asking for Qatar’s loyalty is really not much to ask in my opinion.
Erm,Do the names Palestine,Jordan,Syria,Iraq,Lebanon,Libya,etc. ring a bell?!Apart from Egypt, a bit off the mark there I dare say! Asian expats for the most part are here to earn & save as much money as they can & retire comfortably at home or immigrate elsewhere. A very small number of those actually want to make this home as opposed to most citizens of the countries mentioned in the first sentence! Because irrespective of how much money they earn/save here,there isn’t much to go back to in their home countries.
You did see the “etc” didn’t you? that means there are more but in the interest of time I won’t list. For you I’ll edit the post to include the myriad of countries that have problems that people might be here running from.
The ”etc” should include the countries you mentioned if at all & not the other way around! Asian expats are here to earn & save enough to eventually retire back HOME, most aren’t looking to spend the rest of their lives here!
And the point of all this is? I humbly apologize for not including the dozens of countries but I had work to do.
Spot on. This is the exact situation in the employment sector as well. Arab or other expats with minimal or dubious qualifications who have been here for decades & have risen through the ranks based on seniority alone & nothing else,completely lacking the ability to do justice to their current positions & stuck in the stone ages when it comes to advances in their respective fields having spent most of their adult life here & lording it over much younger,brighter,newer employees lower down in the corporate structure knowing full well that this person knows much more about their job than themselves. Qatar is slowly but surely rooting out these institutionalized relics & good on them for doing it. It is essential if they really want to become world standard.
I’m sorry but that sounds more like the local work force not expatriate.
The local work force came into the picture yesterday! And yes,they definitely feel a sense of entitlement. What I’m referring to however & I’m assuming by your statement you haven’t come across much, are the institutionalized expats who have been here decades,completely out of touch with the advances in their field as a result & lording it over the people who actually know their jobs! Another disadvantage I realize here,are the parallel universes, expats who have been here a short time or maybe even a good few years but completely cut off from many ground realities in this country/region because they’ve has neither the need nor the opportunity to come across it but speak as if they’ve seen it all when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth! There’s a whole world,or rather a good few worlds out in this dot sized Qatar that MANY expats know nothing about for all the time they’ve lived here. Fact.
From your moniker and your last word I’ll assume you know everything.
You can’t ignore the elephant in the room, aka the local, ahem, “workforce”, and blame it all on the expats. Those “lording” over their jobs don’t have to have been here many years at all. I see it, I live it.
ground realities? I don’t understand your last argument.
and you can’t ignore the fact that ur jelllly
Jelly of what?
Nobody knows everything! But quite clearly,I know more than you on the topic under discussion. My point wasn’t that locals don’t ”lord” over others in the workplace,rather it’s not just them that are guilty of it & no neither is justified,in case you’re wondering where I stand on it. As for the ground realities, I’ve done my homework,perhaps you should do yours! Have a nice weekend!
I don’t know what you mean by “ground realities”.
I never said it was just locals who “lord” as is the situation in my case. She’s arab but not Qatari.
umak ya sa3eedi
I have no idea what that means.
Deleting for personal attack.
You’re pretty salty today.
Easy for you to say that… in my case my dad was 9 when he moved here and I was born here too. So it’s not necessarily my father’s fault! We have been here for almost 50 years lol.
What do you do if you were born here and the only place you know is Qatar. Your parents know one day they will go back, but what if you came to life here, you loved Qatar as it was your own and In some cases people only know Qatar, they don’t even know their own country, they haven’t even been there… then what? This place is like quicksand for some of us.
“Fully know the rules” is a bit of an over statement, there were no such things as concrete rules back in the days, everyone did what they felt like… who had a good wasta got away or got passports and who didn’t got no where, which is still the case but a little less since thanks to Doha News we get informed about the new rules in the country or at least the ones that are in talks for the last decade like the sponsorship rule. Besides Qatar never makes promises, it gives a false hope or in other words “InshaAllah” so true or false promises are out of question, but its true no one gave our parents a life time contract but the point is they should have in return for their loyalty or at least rights to live here.
You can’t blame the father or the child and its certainly not about commitment either. If the country had anything to offer people would make commitments and live here forever, But as you can see the properties in pearl is not getting much attention and the apartments are still on sale since the last 10 years… I highly doubt anyone wants to retire here or even live here for a very long time. Specially if the Qataris themselves cant stand being here for more than 2 or 3 months then who can blame the expats.
Excellent.
“I highly doubt anyone wants to retire here or even live here for a very long time. Specially if the Qataris themselves cant stand being here for more than 2 or 3 months then who can blame the expats.”
Then what exactly are you complaining about?
“Qatar made no fake promises when you originally moved here for work, there was no pretence there was something more permament in the offering. In this Qatar is truly honest.”
It’s not that simple.
Some people, like my parents, have been here since the 1970s and earlier when things were very different. My father was given a lot of empty promises. He was told over and over that he would someday be granted citizenship if he would just wait a few years for certain policies to be ironed out, etc. Along the way he gave up options to immigrate to Canada, New Zealand and Austria. He spent thousands of riyals on flights back to Doha every 6 months for my sister and I while we studied abroad, so we could keep our Qatar residence permits valid and maintain a constant connection to this country. For the past several decades he’s been left waiting, waiting, waiting — some of his friends and colleagues in a similar situation managed to get Qatari passports, so he always believed his turn would come in good time. Still nothing. (And no explanation.) In retrospect I can say he was naive…but it does no good to blame an old man. Now we have to pick up the pieces as best we can. It’s a messy and emotional process.
No you cannot blame your father, I believe he got promises. Just wait, inshallah and it will come but then they got rich and didn’t want to share their pie with anyone. They let him down.
They did let him down. And yet, he’s not bitter…just sad, and afraid of the uncertainty now.
The gent in the video seems not to have been given those sugar-coated promises, and I am glad for him. He has a plan. That sounds so wonderful to me. I wish his family all the best.
”The” children aren’t Qatar’s guarantee for the future, QATARI children are Qatar’s guarantee for the future! And rightly so. They are already providing so many displaced Arabs escaping conflict or instability back home,good jobs,a better standard of life than they could ever imagine back home & an education for their kids. On top of that you expect them to give you permanent residency/citizenship as well?! That’s a bit much wouldn’t you say?! Is it the Qatar or any GCC govt’s fault that other Arab countries cause their own instability by electing then keeping dictators in power?! Is the Israel-Palestine conflict the fault of GCC governments? The answer is an emphatic NO. So why then must they bear the burden of supporting all these people? Yes,their local population is very low,does that mean they start giving out citizenship to all Arab expats who have spent their lifetime here? If I were Qatari, I wouldn’t do it & I fully understand why they wouldn’t. They’ve provided hundreds of thousands of Arab expats the opportunity,make the best of it,stay if you can,leave if you can’t. Your home country’s instability isn’t their problem.
Is it any other countries problem that Qatar, and the GCC as a whole, doesn’t train their citizens to build and sustain run their own countries? If you rely on the foreigners to do EVERYTHING for you then then those who spend decades of their lives here doing what should be locally have a gripe. If we all go home it all blows away in the dusty wind.
Separate issues here. The GCC is spoiling it’s own with a cradle to grave social security net & the sooner they correct it the better for them. However that still does not mean they are obliged to provide citizenship to x,y & z simply because they’ve lived here 2 or 3 decades and have kids born here now does it?
We could argue all day about this one and you’re right, they have no legal obligation but maybe they do have a moral one.
But that’s my opinion, not a FACT.
Wonderful video that raises extremely important issue affecting majority of population in a country wishing to develop.
i wish the country would feel more free and Qatari govt could make us feel that this is your home. i am born here in qatar lived my life here throughout.
So what is your solution? A 10 year residency for qualified expats is my choice..
something on the lines of PR similar to the one given in Singapore would be great.
My grandfather came to Qatar in 1956 🙂
Just saying.. no one cares.. moving on…dilemma remains for future generations
Was anyone in at that time?
I feel sorry for her. My father came in 1977. I was born in Qatar 1983. My little brother born in Bangladesh after that two of my brother born including my little sister in Qatar also. Qatar changed. But we still the same. Now I am working as a supervisor in a governmental organisation. It is sad that we are still recognised as foreigners. Sad. I love Qatar very much. But still she won’t recognise me as her son………………….
Why should Qatar recognise you? They have no immigration policy and your father knew that. I understand going back to Bangladesh is not appealing as the country is a disaster but you cannot blame Qatar for that.
Quayum did not blame Qatar for the ‘disaster’ Bangladesh is. Just because he prefers to stay here, it does not logically follow that he blames here for the problems there.
I’m not saying that Qatar is to blame but Qatar recognisies him as a Bangladeshi. He is sad Qatar does not recognise him as her son, but let’s face it only because their is money here and compared to Bangladesh much safer. If he got a green card he would probably be on the next plane professing his love for Uncle Sam.
And Uncle Sam would welcome him with open arms, endow him with the seeds to plant something great, and let nature take its course.
Blood and ethnicity are fickle in comparison to love and shared ideals.
Uncle Sam should first endow equal rights and opportunity for the African Americans who have been there for the past 2 centuries.
After coming back and realizing Qatar has nothing to offer for me, I have decided to start fresh. Moving out of Qatar doesn’t necessarily mean one has to go into a chaos, they can move to a better place. It is hard to leave a place which has all your friends, memories and your whole life including being born here but certainly not impossible.
Good luck and happy trails ahead.
I fully understand the problem and I agree that it is not Qatar’s responsibility to care where their expats end-up eventually in their lives. I also agree that Qatar didn’t make any promises to expats about PR or citizenship. I also agree that Qatari population is afraid of being taken over by Naturalized-Qatari population and this might drain the country’s resources and the citizens are threatened by it. I agree that Qatar always welcomed expats and it has benefited a huge expat population and gave them great lives that they couldn’t have got it back home. I also agree that culture identity maybe lost if too many expats become PR or Naturalized-Qatari.
We all can agree that expats have invested a great deal of time, effort, commitment and handwork in shaping the economy over the years. And yes, the expats were paid and they didn’t do any favor for Qatar, they did their job and got paid. Lot of expat families choose Qatar as their new home and started a family in this country and called it their home. When they came, they brought their culture, their language and traditions. And I can say one thing for sure that, Qatar wouldn’t be the Qatar if it wasn’t for the expats. Every single person who landed in Qatar, had something new to offer to Qatar. Do you know, i have some friends who are not Qatari, but when asked, they recognize Qatar as their home, that is how much they are proud of being born and raised in this country.
Has anyone ever asked these questions
How many businesses depend on expats? How many business are owned and run by expats?
Will Qatar have the same charm and good vibe without all the expat culture?
I have Qatari friends who I went to school with, and one of them once said his best childhood snack after football game was samboosa at a small Asian takeout. We all love karak, dont we? Would Karak be a thing if it wasn’t for expats?? Now my point is not samboosa or karak, What i m trying to say is change in cultural identity is not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of Abayas I see out there are inspired by some Asian or American designs. People seem to love it, so whats the problem. Now i know religion is important of us and too many Naturalized citizens can make an impact on this BUT Qatar is soon implementing Freedom of Religion, I recently read in news, so we can waive that out. I am sure that there are lot of native-Qatari themselves are not quite committed to their own culture and traditions and would love to live a free life.
I know for the fact that since I am not a Qatari citizen, I m probably not gonna be living here all my life, but most of my life and I we moved here when I was 10. Having known this fact, I live in Qatar like it is my permanent home. I have a lovely house, a nice running business and an amazing family. And all this even thought I know I will be Kicked out of this country the day I m not needed here. But yet I am taking the risk of doing all this because I love Qatar and I want my family to live here. Imagine How much more progress I would have made IF I KNEW I WOULD BECOME A CITIZEN SOMEDAY. Instead of sending all the money back home, I would have invested every single riyal within the country.
“Immigration to Canada, Australia, New Zealand fast track application processing” —- sounds familiar from our local newspaper ads?? Do you know people invest up to 400,000 USD and more in-order to immigrate to these countries and get a PR, and all those applicants are expats of Qatar. Why are those dumbos spending all their earning from Qatar in some western country?? Because that country is showing commitment!!! How many expats out there don’t live up to their potential just because deep down they all know what is their end, which is going back home some day. We would shine even brighter if we at least had an OPPORTUNITY to become a citizen sometime.
I know its very scary for Qatar and its citizens to even imagine a world were expats becoming permanent residents or citizens and I swear I would be scared too if I was a Qatari Citizen. But I am sure we can come up with a fair solution that protects the interest of native-Qatari citizens and benefits expats at the same time. I love Qatar and I always will, I am thankful to all that it has provided me and my family with, so I really hope people in power can agree on some common grounds
This is a reality , Qatar belongs to Qatari’s and it should be like this. but when we look to America,UK,Australia or the rest of Europe they give you all the facilities of life and you have right to live there for ever and with equality and invest there and get nationality. they take you an asset as you have worked for so many years there and your children got education which is another asset for them. All though all the Arabs love to be in the countries mention above but also on the same time they are trying to conserve their traditions too for their coming generation and its not something bad . i think its good. But in the end we all have to go back to a place where we belong and that is to our mother lands. In fact one day even we have to go from this world too so guys don’t b sad nothing is forever , we all are passengers of world with different rides . If my views seems to be offensive for few then i apologize in advance . best wishes for all of the readers .
Hmmm. Wonder what other countries like Canada, Australia, the USA, UK, etc would be like if they stopped handing citizenship out to people from other countries. Maybe then we’d all be able to find decent jobs in our own countries and wouldn’t have to be working in Qatar. On the other hand… I think that would make for a dull existence as I like and enjoy the diversity of other cultures.
Oh please, save the drama for your momma (as they say). Borders and nations are just made up.. that’s how you should look at the world. I can understand she feels ‘left behind’ by not getting chances, but jeez louise, the world is a big place; if one doesn’t accept you, make it their loss, and move to where you DO find opportunities. Ps: the grass always looks greener elsewhere, and I’m not totally convinced that Qatar wouldn’t give ‘home grown’ workforce a chance. Seems far-fetched.
Great and interesting discussion, all! Closing the thread now.