with my life here and have freely chosen to live here, with all the good and bad that that move entails.
But seriously, it's luck of the draw with a political system like they have here. Thank God, his and her highnesses are forward-thinking and care about establishing certain things in their country for the future of its citizenry.
But let's not overlook the fact that when you have a ruling family and you do not elect your leaders, you are basically at their mercy. The money this country has at its disposal buys it a great deal of leeway when it comes to various things. We don't get taxed but then having a system of taxation also gives you some say in how the government is doing things. Luckily for us, Qatar also wants a certain image to be presented to the world, so there is some pressure to do things in a way or fashion that shows Qatar in a good light or gains it some prestige in the eyes of the west.
No country is immune from having bad policies and practices, I know. But I think the migrant workers here who have very little in the way of legal rights or advocacy would question your depiction of this system as such a benevolent one. When they can go months without being paid, living in sub-human conditions that we in the west wouldn't let our dogs in live in, then I have a hard time seeing this system as being so much better than the ones most of us have back in our own countries.
I would venture to say that in the Netherlands or Canada, if a company failed to pay 500 Nepali workers for several months, there'd be a HUGE stink about it and the company's name would be splashed across the front page of the newspaper, government agencies would get involved, and the situation wouldn't become one where the company gets a slap on the wrist, finally pays them all, flies them out, then flies in another group of 500 only to do the same crap all over again without meaningful consequence.
Again, I can certainly appreciate how much Sh. Hamad has done for this country to advance it to where it is now, but let's be frank and acknowledge that the system here also leaves a great deal to be desired. No unions or public demonstrations. Sponsors who routinely retain employees' passports. Lack of a free press. Inequitable application of laws based upon one's nationality. A court system that is slow to work and questionable if you are up against a local....and many other things.
So while I am appreciative of the life I lead here, I don't think you should make it sound like the majority of the foreigners here have it SO much better than they would back home. Most come here for a better salary than they could make back home, but the sacrifice and trade-off they make for that is considerable.
"If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it between sh*t and syphilis in the dictionary."
- David Sedaris
with my life here and have freely chosen to live here, with all the good and bad that that move entails.
But seriously, it's luck of the draw with a political system like they have here. Thank God, his and her highnesses are forward-thinking and care about establishing certain things in their country for the future of its citizenry.
But let's not overlook the fact that when you have a ruling family and you do not elect your leaders, you are basically at their mercy. The money this country has at its disposal buys it a great deal of leeway when it comes to various things. We don't get taxed but then having a system of taxation also gives you some say in how the government is doing things. Luckily for us, Qatar also wants a certain image to be presented to the world, so there is some pressure to do things in a way or fashion that shows Qatar in a good light or gains it some prestige in the eyes of the west.
No country is immune from having bad policies and practices, I know. But I think the migrant workers here who have very little in the way of legal rights or advocacy would question your depiction of this system as such a benevolent one. When they can go months without being paid, living in sub-human conditions that we in the west wouldn't let our dogs in live in, then I have a hard time seeing this system as being so much better than the ones most of us have back in our own countries.
I would venture to say that in the Netherlands or Canada, if a company failed to pay 500 Nepali workers for several months, there'd be a HUGE stink about it and the company's name would be splashed across the front page of the newspaper, government agencies would get involved, and the situation wouldn't become one where the company gets a slap on the wrist, finally pays them all, flies them out, then flies in another group of 500 only to do the same crap all over again without meaningful consequence.
Again, I can certainly appreciate how much Sh. Hamad has done for this country to advance it to where it is now, but let's be frank and acknowledge that the system here also leaves a great deal to be desired. No unions or public demonstrations. Sponsors who routinely retain employees' passports. Lack of a free press. Inequitable application of laws based upon one's nationality. A court system that is slow to work and questionable if you are up against a local....and many other things.
So while I am appreciative of the life I lead here, I don't think you should make it sound like the majority of the foreigners here have it SO much better than they would back home. Most come here for a better salary than they could make back home, but the sacrifice and trade-off they make for that is considerable.
"If you're looking for sympathy, you'll find it between sh*t and syphilis in the dictionary."
- David Sedaris