We are not just Qataris, we are Gulf citizens

In 2000, my dad accepted a job offer in Abu Dhabi as deputy manager of administration in the Arab Monetary Fund. Up until then, he dedicated his entire career to academia as a professor of management and economics at Qatar University that started in 1978 and thus wanted a change of pace.  

He stayed in Abu Dhabi for a total of three years before he eventually came back and resumed his previous position at Qatar University. During that time, I would visit him regularly and it didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the city.

He resided right next to his workplace in Hilton Baynunah, which at the time was the tallest tower in all of Abu Dhabi. What I fondly remember was the beautiful sprawling view of the city’s iconic corniche that his apartment overlooked.

I also remember enjoying long walks around the city because the urban landscape was laid out in blocks and therefore it was easy to get around. I distinctly remember getting excited at the thought of going to Al-Mariah Cineplex, which was new at the time, to watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters in state-of-the-art theatres.

I remember driving by popular Lebanese restaurant Maroosh near the corniche regularly to order their mouth watering Avocado shake mixed with honey, nuts and cream; a hit with the locals and residents alike.

I remember going to Virgin Megastore in Abu Dhabi mall at least once through every trip to stock up on the latest DVD’s and CD’s since we didn’t have the chain store yet in Qatar.

I remember going to Madinat Zayed shopping Centre, one of the older retail centers in the city, and just enjoying strolling around looking at different stores that sold fabrics, perfumes and electronics, which reminded me so much of the older Souq’s in Qatar like Souq Al-Jabr and Souq Al-Ahmed.

I remember buying my favorite perfumes every time I would pass by the Abu Dhabi airport’s Duty Free complex, which is housed in the beautiful blue and green tile mosaic atrium located in the center of the Satellite shaped passenger terminal.

However, what I most remember is how I felt the entire time I was there in Abu Dhabi; safe, respected and with my dignity intact. I never once felt like an outsider, or that I didn’t belong there, and even today Abu Dhabi occupies a very special place in my heart despite the unfortunate recent turn of events that took place.

Since the blockade on Qatar started, I wrote an article in which I recounted the time I found out the late Sheikh Zayed (May he Rest in Peace) passed away, and it was at that moment that I knew precisely how interconnected we as nationals of GCC states were.  

I alluded that each ruler was like a member of the same family unit and the GCC as a whole is the house in which they reside, wherein each room comprises a country. In terms of our relationship, we cannot live cut off from one another, simply because if the safety and stability of one room is compromised, the entire foundation of that house will start to crumble.

Therefore, it is incumbent upon us as a people of these nations to find compassion within ourselves and refrain from expressing animosity towards one another so that wounds can start to heal and things can return to how they once were.

No matter how long the process takes, when it comes to the unification of the GCC, I firmly believe in the old saying “united we stand, divided we fall”.