Just my thoughts on living here/not from here
I have been here coming on three months. This is my second time being in Doha. I can honestly say that the only thing that has changed in the 3 years since I have been here is the amount of buildings downtown and the level of angry drivers has risen.
Other than that it is still a HUGELY class driven society. I read in the hotel book that Qatar was considered the 'Country of Hospitality' and was wondering what exactly that meant. I mean since I have been here I have not met one hospitable person of local descent. Now, it could be that I am not 'hanging out' in the right places to meet these people but I would think I would run into one or two in my daily goings on.
What I have run into is the manic driving and the message that the laws are only made for foreigners and the locals can disobey any law they want to no avail. They can talk on their cell phones (unlawful), they can have their little ones walking all around the vehicle with no seatbelt on (I hope unlawful), and they can drive at twice the speed limit and assault you with their vehicles on the road but you cannot do a thing.
It causes me to pause and wonder if there is ever a thought in their mind when they visit other countries that they should be submissive to the locals of the country they are visiting. I highly doubt that it occurs but perhaps it does.
I am ashamed that my behavior, after being here for a length of time, on the road has become that of an angry hostile impatient person as well. I hate being that way. Back home, I was the one who would say, 'ahhh, this traffic is ok, maybe I have diverted being in my own accident by being stuck here.' or 'I hope that whomever is hurt up ahead is ok, lemme pray for them.' Now, I will cover this now while I can, I am not a Bible thumping Christian from America. I have faith in a higher being and I believe that it is good to pray for others. It's just in my being to do that and be that way.
I despise that I have come to be the same as these drivers here, where I drive aggressively and in a hostile manner. I hate that my son is terrified to go for a walk with me anymore because of how horribly people drive here. It is a city that is trying so hard to create a niche for tourism but screams for everyone to stay away in every fibre of their being.
This town could thrive if they would get on board with a 'hospitality' premise. I just don't see it happening. From the time I left in 2007 to now, the hostility of driving has remained just as horrible. If that does not improve I really don't see the positive movement towards tourism. Of course, someone will probably comment and say I am wrong and that this this and this has been done and that has been done. The beauty of that is, I have not been deprived of my opinion and I still have the power to control that.
I will remain vigilant for the time being in hopes that there is some sort of change to all of this. I will remain hopeful that there is some big change to the traffic laws and its' enforcement so that we can feel a bit safer riding around out there. These are my words, it is my opinion and just throwing the words out there to get it off my chest. I am sure they are sick of hearing my woes on facebook so here I sit. I will not digress.
Peace to all of you
Suxbeinhere,
I agree with you. Qatar is a country that disappoints many, once you get to know it and those who govern it don't want to know about our feedback because they won't do a thing to change its wild side!
I blame it on a combination of a sudden rapid wealth growth (not from hard work), cultural traits and lack of education.
PS. The aggressive behavior sure is contagious!
I think I would agree with the lady on most counts except that I am not sure if its only Qataris or driving in general is quite rash here. I am only here for a month & I am already terrified of crossing the roads. That said, I have also heard a lot about how locals can get away with practically doing anything while expacts may get screwed for a small mistake. Frankly, I haven't been in touch with the locals here but I wouldn't call them 'inhospitable'. They sure smile & say hello on some occasions (not that I expect much from them). I guess not having pedestrian crossings totally sucks. Govt. should do something abt it.
I'm not sure if I believe this story.
I think you are being defensive and exaggerating a bit.
Yes, there are traffic violators in America and there are consequences for the violations.
Here, it seems like there are so many violations that the police can't/won't do anything about it.
NOTE: Drivers here LEARN to drive defensively so that they can survive out on the Doha streets. This learned behavior, IMHO, will never be reversed unless the police get a back bone and stiff fines are issued to these violators.
If the story is as you say -- that he repeatedly rammed his car into another -- then he has to be ticketed and/or arrested. Why would the police pressure the victim not to press charges? That makes no sense.... :-/
I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM
simple question
how many locals you know in this website?
i dont know how you can reach these conclusions,, but lets take them 1 by 1
1-driving: qataris about 10-15% of population so i assumed they are around that in the streets , one out of ten drivers is qatari.. and see for urself in atypical day how many expats drive like hell..
2 again the cell phone issue and that the law only for expats, that the biggest excuse i have ever heard to explain why you drive with such anger and hostilty,,
on last saturday a horrible accedint happined in sealine, a foriegn expat or shall i say a westrner slammed his car repeatdly into a qatari family car , and continued driving like nothing happined,and above all that it happined in front of everybody on the road and when cought by police they tried to make excuses and pressure the qatari man not press charges.. and that he is sorry,,
can anyone in america do that and say sorry? is that civilization you are missing?
2005 I think Doha was very different. Things changed leading up to the Asian Games and have continued to do so; much of it not for the better in my opinion. Certainly the outrageous cost of living started in about 2004 and if you were on the base you surely didn't realize that. It is so bad that now I cannot save anything from my salary, as you know Americans have to pay US taxes here and taxable income includes housing, air tickets, car allowances, etc. With the ridiculous inflation this eats up the exclusionary amount you are allowed to make tax free, so you pay taxes on your salary as if you were in the States.
I still enjoy my work here and living here, but I many not be able to afford to continue much longer. As it stands now, I would do better financially back home, although I don't want to live there.
Jasmine, if I lived someplace like what you are describing back in the UK, I wouldn't have anything to criticize about Qatar. I can't imagine such a thing!
I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM
I must add that I don't think it sucks being here even though the lack of pedestrian crossings drive me mad, in fact I would rather be here than anywhere else I have been or lived. I would rather face cruddy traffic in my hometown in England than the endless drunks and drug addicts stealing my stuff and spending 40% of my salary that is stolen in taxes. Small mercies they may be, but for me who had every car I ever owned vandalised, people puking/peeing/having sex/injecting heroin in my front garden on their way home from the pub, a little girl raped and murdered less than 2 minutes from where I live, being too scared to walk past a group of 7 year old boys in case they are armed, etc etc etc.
Give me the traffic anyday, compared to what I am used to, it is a small price to pay.
Many have commented, I figured my rants would go unnoticed or bashed by those who disagree. I can truly empathize with jasmine in that, I feel that as a woman I have been treated with such disdain and disrespect that it has made me hostile as well. I feel I am too old for that stuff and just thought I fought the 'womens rights' issues when I was in my teens working in a male dominant career-field.
To comment to marycatherine, I think I made it clear that I am sure there are some Qatari's out there that might be nice, I just have not seen hide nor hair of 'em. Perhaps I should go knock on some doors 'hi, it's your local infidel, wanna chat?' Sorry, I was being disrespectful there, I apologize. In that I digressed, my humour is getting me through this somehow.
Andee, no, I am not expecting that at all, I would just like the people who I come in contact with to smile back at me, because I do smile a lot. They look at me as if a freak. Oh well, this freak is going to go home in a year or so still intact and smiling.
PM, I was here when the Doha games were being set up and then occurred, all I can say is what a cluster! It as horrible, I think because they opened the borders for any and all to attend and they all did! Of course, when I was here then, I was protected by the blanket of a military base and not having to live on the economy. I had rose coloured glasses on in taking this civilian assignment.
All in all, I can say that no matter how bad, I will not take on a hopeless attitude. I will not give up on the good of mankind because somehow, someway there will be change. I am not preaching like Obama and his b.s., I am just saying that when you hit rock bottom there are only two ways you can go straight up or sideways! So let's head back up shall we?
Your child is smart in being afraid to go for a walk with the speeding drivers and those that cannot stay in their lane.
DO NOT get comfortable here...it's a "every man/woman for himself/herself" mentality.
In other words, there is such an overt display of disrespect it's pathetic.
The tone has been set in stone. It will NOT change and people who live in this place will have to become defensive drivers; thus, leading to stress levels that are deadly.
This is such a depressing place.
In fact, I agree with most of what you have said. I have been here for over 10 years and Qatar has changed a lot in that time. I find much of it for the worse.
For example, when I first came here I found the hospitality you read about. I had so many Qataris open up their homes to me and welcome me with open arms. Those friends I made at that point still are great friends. But in the run up to the Asian Games things began to change with the huge influx of expats. Now it seems that many Qataris do not want any of us here, and they have been empowered by the political changes to speak their mind in that regard. The result is that I don't think anybody coming to Qatar for the first time after 2005 would actually be bowled over by the hospitality here.
Now that said, I do think there are many Qataris (including some who hold a lot of power) who see the value of having expats here and try to make us comfortable. It's just that I get the feeling they are vastly outnumbered these days....
I didn't drink the kool-aid! -- PM
Agree with MaryCatherine... if you are expecting the locals to come to you with open arms and full of smiles - then you need to also make the first move...a smile does a lot....
Must disagree on your blanket description of Qataris. Do some break the various traffic laws and endanger their children? Yes. There are also loads of expats (including those who supposedly know better i.e. Western) who do the same.
I work with Qataris every day, some are good, some are great, some are not worth my time - just like my fellow Canadians. I have found that most of the people I encounter (of any nationality) have a great sense of humour and will smile at you if you smile at them. Often I find I take others by surprise (students on my campus - they are not in my class but I encounter them out and about) by saying Good Morning, how are you? with a smile. It's not something they're used to - and it goes a long way to establishing a rapport anywhere in the world if you are sincere.
Signature line > "You can't fix stupid"
So sorry about the bold, no idea what has happened
I enjoyed reading this as a great piece of writing but I don't really understand why you came back with such high hopes of change when it isn't something likely to change.
I agree with you more and to add, as a Karwa bus user, the fact that I have people drive at me, throw things at me and stop and open the car door as if I am a prostitute when all I am trying to do is cross the Rayyan Road to get to the damn bus stop. I find it annoying but I have never believed it will change.