I have also seen so many shops and other businesses here that can't have been making much of a profit for THAT to be the sole impetus behind them barring certain people from the malls.
I think it's also the issue of the image it presents to others. The same way that they don't publish negative stories about Qatar in the local dailies, I think they don't want the malls to be overrun with laborers because then it will give the impression of that place being lower class, and that's not the image they want to project (despite the fact that over 50% of the population in Qatar survives on less than QR 750/mo probably).
Qatar fancies itself a sophisticated, high class society. They want the Dolce&Gabbana boutiques and fancy-shmancy chocolate shops to be representative of their shopping malls.
Several of you have raised excellent points, though. Here in Qatar they always lump the shops together -- so there are few free-standing places where other less affluent folks can go. I find this annoying especially for the movie theaters myself. I can't stand crowds, and hate the fact that they have put all the cinemas inside shopping malls, so my only choice is to brave the crowds or not to go. If they had a cinema complex that was just by itself, out somewhere, I would be much more likely to head there so I could avoid the throngs of hormonal teens.
I also like the idea of requiring companies to have a certain amount of recreational facilities for every X number of workers they employ. Sporting facilities and equipment, cinemas, etc. That would go a long way towards alleviating this problem.
But as always, I won't hold my breath.
Addressing this problem is not a priority for Qatar.
"I wish I could drink like a lady. I can take one or two at the most. Three and I'm under the table. Four and I'm under the host"
-- Dorothy Parker
I have also seen so many shops and other businesses here that can't have been making much of a profit for THAT to be the sole impetus behind them barring certain people from the malls.
I think it's also the issue of the image it presents to others. The same way that they don't publish negative stories about Qatar in the local dailies, I think they don't want the malls to be overrun with laborers because then it will give the impression of that place being lower class, and that's not the image they want to project (despite the fact that over 50% of the population in Qatar survives on less than QR 750/mo probably).
Qatar fancies itself a sophisticated, high class society. They want the Dolce&Gabbana boutiques and fancy-shmancy chocolate shops to be representative of their shopping malls.
Several of you have raised excellent points, though. Here in Qatar they always lump the shops together -- so there are few free-standing places where other less affluent folks can go. I find this annoying especially for the movie theaters myself. I can't stand crowds, and hate the fact that they have put all the cinemas inside shopping malls, so my only choice is to brave the crowds or not to go. If they had a cinema complex that was just by itself, out somewhere, I would be much more likely to head there so I could avoid the throngs of hormonal teens.
I also like the idea of requiring companies to have a certain amount of recreational facilities for every X number of workers they employ. Sporting facilities and equipment, cinemas, etc. That would go a long way towards alleviating this problem.
But as always, I won't hold my breath.
Addressing this problem is not a priority for Qatar.
"I wish I could drink like a lady. I can take one or two at the most. Three and I'm under the table. Four and I'm under the host"
-- Dorothy Parker