West Estd--I think what you wrote has a great deal of validity, and I certainly sympathize with you. It is a very fair question to ask, what exactly is a Qatari in terms of ethnicity? The true answer is the descendants of a range of nationalities that managed to arrive on the peninsula before an arbitrary date decades ago. Hardly any citizens can trace their roots to the peninsula more than a few generations.
I fully believe that one of Qatar's best chances for longterm success and prosperity rests in revamping its citizenship rules to include the children of Qatari women married to other nationals, as well as those who are culturally similar (i.e. Muslim) with longstanding roots and contributions to the country. Some of the best and brightest students in schools here come from the communities of people who have been here decades and consider Qatar as their longterm home (unlike most expats). This is a resource that needs to be tapped if Qataris are to both maintain their rapid growth and control. The alternative is to continue to hand it over to foreigners, which for all intents in purposes hands over not only wealth, but also power, to foreigners. If such reforms do ever come, I hope that you and your family benefit from them.
Fortunately, Qatar has been blessed with some visionary thinkers and leaders, so unlike most countries that suffer from the 'oil curse' Qatar has a chance.
West Estd--I think what you wrote has a great deal of validity, and I certainly sympathize with you. It is a very fair question to ask, what exactly is a Qatari in terms of ethnicity? The true answer is the descendants of a range of nationalities that managed to arrive on the peninsula before an arbitrary date decades ago. Hardly any citizens can trace their roots to the peninsula more than a few generations.
I fully believe that one of Qatar's best chances for longterm success and prosperity rests in revamping its citizenship rules to include the children of Qatari women married to other nationals, as well as those who are culturally similar (i.e. Muslim) with longstanding roots and contributions to the country. Some of the best and brightest students in schools here come from the communities of people who have been here decades and consider Qatar as their longterm home (unlike most expats). This is a resource that needs to be tapped if Qataris are to both maintain their rapid growth and control. The alternative is to continue to hand it over to foreigners, which for all intents in purposes hands over not only wealth, but also power, to foreigners. If such reforms do ever come, I hope that you and your family benefit from them.
Fortunately, Qatar has been blessed with some visionary thinkers and leaders, so unlike most countries that suffer from the 'oil curse' Qatar has a chance.