I recently returned to the States for a combination home and education leave and was greeted by some wonderful thunderstorms reminding me how much I love them and how much I miss them here in Qatar. I can remember standing on the screened porch as a child, my nose pressed to the screen the better to see the lightening and hear the thunder. Moving to New York City as an adult only reinforced my love of these natural phenomena. Caught one Saturday as I walked in mid-town, I sought refuge in one of small public lobbies open to the street. From here I could hear the thunder roll up and down the caverns created by the dense mass of tall buildings, see the lightening as well as reflections off the vast glass walls that the windows offer. I was in my own heaven for 15-30 minutes as the storm echoed around Manhattan and I stayed dry but totally engaged.
Now having returned from leave I was struck afresh by the small but clear signs that I’m not in Kansas anymore, as we often say. Although many Americans think of Kansas as undifferentiated, it is far more differentiated than Qatar. With 213,097 sq km in Kansas vs 11,439 in Qatar (slightly smaller than Connecticut), with the highest point of elevation at 1232 m v 30 m in Qatar, with over 50,000 streams (none in Q.) and with a population of 2.7 mil.ion v .9 million, they are connected oddly enough by the extensive beds of prehistoric ocean fossils that lie in chalk beds. And this appears a much harder feat for Kansas than the peninsula of Qatar.
Immediately back in Qatar I discovered that my telecommunication access via DSL was down more often than up, an enormous hardship as well as a disruption for work from home. I am not alone and have heard that the person who understands this technology best is on holiday leave, presumably out of the country.
Purchasing an office chair for home today, I was asked if I wanted it fixed. Although I have learned that fixed means assembled, I still recoil slightly thinking first that I am buying a new object that shouldn’t need fixing and then that I am not buying an animal that needs spaying. Daily news in the Qatar English papers demonstrate I’m not at home as well: from pictures of a decimated Mercedes Benz on the road to Al Khor, itself a lovely village 30-35 minutes north of Doha when travelling at speed limits of 120 kmh, to headlines that proclaim that “Obama raised a whopping $52m in June” and add that this is more than “double the haul” of John McCain, or suggest that “Kirkuk row queers pitch for electoral law,” to reports of the Qatar prison, some excerpts quoted here.
Life at the Central Prison is good. Inmates here should have no complaints with four meals every day, air-conditioned rooms, indoor games for leisure, soft and soothing music at bed-time.
The multi-cuisine daily menu of the prisoners is planned by a team of nutritionists. They make sure that the prisoners, belonging to different nationalities, get their traditional food. During weekends, the inmates can expect a wider spread of the menu. …
Qatar's Central Prison is also unique in many other ways. The convicts are free to meet their spouses once a week. The jail authorities provide a private room for that. But the meeting should not be prolonged more than two hours. Both male and female jails have this facility.
The prisoners can make a maximum of three telephone calls per week. Free telephone cards are provided to those who want to make international calls. …
The cells are connected to centralised air-conditioner system. One spacious cell is being shared by four convicts. Those who are facing psychological disorders are confined into a single cell. All the cells have attached bath. Each block has a separate mosque, in addition to a common mosque. …
During the visit we found a group of convicts busy in variety of creative works ranging from painting to making traditional Arab handicrafts. The well-decorated traditional wooden chests are often exported to neighbouring countries.
In the States you see at best lip service to the acute problems of refugees created by turmoil in the mid-east, most recently by U.S. actions in the Iraq war. Here in the mid-East it’s a bit different as the recent discussion at a three-day conference in Doha showed. In the U.S. while there are groups concerned about this rising tide of refuges specifically in and from the mid-East, more attention is paid, it appears, to illegal immigrants and their impact on the U.S. A three-day workshop titled "Refugees in the Arab countries - General responsibilities and practices" was inaugurated here at Doha Sheraton yesterday.
"A majority of the refugees living in the region have fled from war ravaged Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan," said Radhouane Nouicer, Director of UNHCR Bureau in Middle East and North Africa.
Almost all Arab countries are hosting refugees, including GCC countries as people from war torn countries are living and working in GCC. Countries hosting refugee have been urged to deal with the influx with humanitarian approach at the same time taking care to maintain their own security concerns.
"Jordan and Syria are doing very well in this regard," said Nouicer. "These host countries have ensured that the refugees are accorded their fundamental rights like freedom of movement, education, health and housing."
Finally, today we see a lengthy discussion of the recent inter-faith conference in Madrid organized by King Abudulah of Saudia Arabia. The New York Times had a brief paragraph announcing plans for the conference 5 days ago.
From The Peninsula
MADRID • Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders yesterday called for an international agreement to combat terrorism, at the end of a landmark Saudi-organised conference.
The representatives of the world’s great monotheistic religions also appealed for a special session of the UN General Assembly to promote dialogue and prevent “a clash of civilizations.”
“Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires unified international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible and just way,” participants at the three-day World Conference on Dialogue said in a final communique.
“This demands an international agreement on defining terrorism, addressing its root causes and achieving justice and stability in the world.”
They called for more “ways of enhancing understanding and cooperation among people despite differences in their origins, colours and languages,” and a “rejection of extremism and terrorism.”
Around 200 participants attended the gathering in Madrid, organised by the Makkah-based Muslim World League from an initiative by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and aimed at bringing the world’s great monotheistic faiths closer together.
In all, it is quickly clear that I am in another world and I begin to plan my next forays into other countries.
