Qatar is probably the most overtly racist place I have ever lived, and I have lived all over the world. Racism is a part of every place, but here it is the norm and totally accepted if not encouraged. Part of the problem is the national caste system for jobs--Nepal for janitors, India for drivers, Philippines and Sri Lanka for maids and retail stores, non-Gulf Arabs for middle management, Europe for upper management and consultants, America for specialized professionals working for contracted American companies.
I have a colleague that is Indian by ethnicity (US citizen by birth). He is highly educated, a top professional, etc., but he gets stopped every Friday at the mall unless his family is with him, and people at stores are always speaking to him as if he works in them.
And for every racist Westerner who looks down at and Asian, there are a dozen racist Asians who are bitter and assume he is an overpaid washout that couldn't cut it in his own country. It cuts both ways.
Qatar is probably the most overtly racist place I have ever lived, and I have lived all over the world. Racism is a part of every place, but here it is the norm and totally accepted if not encouraged. Part of the problem is the national caste system for jobs--Nepal for janitors, India for drivers, Philippines and Sri Lanka for maids and retail stores, non-Gulf Arabs for middle management, Europe for upper management and consultants, America for specialized professionals working for contracted American companies.
I have a colleague that is Indian by ethnicity (US citizen by birth). He is highly educated, a top professional, etc., but he gets stopped every Friday at the mall unless his family is with him, and people at stores are always speaking to him as if he works in them.
And for every racist Westerner who looks down at and Asian, there are a dozen racist Asians who are bitter and assume he is an overpaid washout that couldn't cut it in his own country. It cuts both ways.