I discovered a similar abhorrent parenting incident several months ago, and even asked friends who are counselors here and have contacts within the local (Qatari) community of social services what I could do, which organization I could call that would do some official follow up on the kids/family to ensure they were safe and being properly supervised.
And I was pretty much told point blank that unless something awful befalls the kids (drowned in the pool where they played unattended or something like that), the authorities are unlikely to get involved because stuff like this is viewed as a private family matter, whether they are Qatari or expat Arab or another nationality.
In my many years teaching here in Qatar, I have come across young kids that I knew were being beaten at home, girls who were being sexually abused by a male family member, and the more-common scenario of kids constantly left unsupervised by their parents...and there is jack all that you can do to help them.
It's quite sad....
They will not remove children from the family house here, even if there is ongoing abuse and the perpetrator is a family member who lives there with them. Gulf Arab society is far too traditional to allow such a thing. Imagine the loss of face someone would suffer if that happened! They simply won't publicly embarrass someone, even if it means letting an abusive situation continue...
I discovered a similar abhorrent parenting incident several months ago, and even asked friends who are counselors here and have contacts within the local (Qatari) community of social services what I could do, which organization I could call that would do some official follow up on the kids/family to ensure they were safe and being properly supervised.
And I was pretty much told point blank that unless something awful befalls the kids (drowned in the pool where they played unattended or something like that), the authorities are unlikely to get involved because stuff like this is viewed as a private family matter, whether they are Qatari or expat Arab or another nationality.
In my many years teaching here in Qatar, I have come across young kids that I knew were being beaten at home, girls who were being sexually abused by a male family member, and the more-common scenario of kids constantly left unsupervised by their parents...and there is jack all that you can do to help them.
It's quite sad....
They will not remove children from the family house here, even if there is ongoing abuse and the perpetrator is a family member who lives there with them. Gulf Arab society is far too traditional to allow such a thing. Imagine the loss of face someone would suffer if that happened! They simply won't publicly embarrass someone, even if it means letting an abusive situation continue...