I
am in Doha to show solidarity with the country, which is facing a diplomatic
crisis, forced on them by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, all I suppose
stalwarts of human rights, democratic rights of women and minorities and
supporters of movements such as Hamas or Hezbollah or Syrian rebel groups and
those in Libya. In fact this is the case of a kettle calling a pot black. Qatar
has been one of the few lights on this dark horizon of the Arab world, with a
reasonably independent press and TV, Al Jazeera, not blinded by hatred towards
Israel or Iran.
(because UAE and KSA have closed their airspace to QR flights, they have to deviate over Iran to come to land in Qatar)
I
feel good being here, I want to show my solidarity by being here, flying my
favourite airlines Qatar Airways.
The
Flight attendant on my flight from KL was from Thailand. The immigration
officer was a Qatari lady to whom I expressed my solidarity with her country.
She stamps a transit visa on my passport.
Syed
from Cannanore is my Uber driver, with whom I have a pleasant talk, not missing
a chance to tell him about the innovations in technology that is coming out of
Israel, he told me of the visit of his PM to Israel. At the Westin Hotel, Geeta
who has a much sonorous last name, is from India, and was pleasant and upgraded
me to a very nice room making my stay
extra pleasant. Anisa from Uganda and another lady from Jakarta made up the
Front Desk. Shayam from Sri Lanka was the bus boy.
I
waited for my friend Aksam from Matare to come by. He has been a friend ever
since I met him at the old lounge at the old Hamad International in 2012. He
came with a friend who worked at the American base; also a Sri Lankan and we
went off to the park surrounding the Islamic Art Museum, enjoying the bright
lights shining on the desert sky. At the end of our evening, we ended up in
Lanka restaurant where I could taste Paratta and Chicken Curry. The place was
full of Sri Lankan men with an occasional Indian or Egyptian.
This
morning’s breakfast was a buffet, how I lamented the buffet at My Kitchen at
Double Tree in KL where I had Roti Canai and Chicken curry just yesterday. Here
it was mainly a European fare. I talked to a Filipina who let me into the
premises, a Bangalorean who made me a nice omelet, A Tunisian who pointed out
the Hummus, Labneh and Foul, Rose from the Philippines giving me an extra cup
of coffee to take back to the room. Visnu from Nepal was the obliging waiter
and we talked about the days when he worked in Dubai, and the comparisons from
his viewpoint of these two countries. Anisa from Uganda accompanied me to the
Breakfast Buffet and leaving me in the hands of the stern Filipina lady.
I
do not belong to this desert, as my ancestors may have crossed these lands
centuries ago, but I have no connection that I feel to Malaysia, for example or
to Cochin in Kerala.
So it was good to talk to Rohainah, from Malaysia who is a chef in charge of one aspect of the food offerings.
The
atmosphere is welcoming, men so elegantly dressed, with their long flowing
robes without a crease, headgear waving in the air. As I pointed out to the
receptionist, when you go to a country, you are attracted by the elegance of
the women, say in Colombia or Argentina, but in Qatar, the elegance of the men
attracts your attention more than the fully covered in black women, dressed
traditionally as they have been for centuries.
I
am happy to be in Qatar. Cuba has a special relation with Qatar and there is a
Cuban Hospital at Dukhun, especially constructed to provide space for Cuba to
practice its well-known humanitarian medicine.
THE CUBAN HOSPITAL AT DUKHAN IN WESTERN QATAR.
