Gulf Crisis week 2
2 weeks have passed since Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and began blocking air and sea routes and closed the only land border between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The participating countries closed their air space to Qatar Airways and their national airlines are no longer flying into Qatar. With the land border closed, all deliveries of food and other materials through Saudi Arabia have been halted so other arrangements were quickly made, including flying in produce from Turkey, Iran and India and sea shipping via Oman rather than UAE.
The effect on Gulf families is the biggest impact and today marks the 14 day deadline for Saudi, UAE and Bahraini nationals to leave Qatar and for Qataris to leave those countries. There are harsh penalties for those who do not comply, including threats of jail sentences, travel bans of up to 3 years and possibly revoking citizenship permanently. Amnesty International has accused these countries of "toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education"
Students are being forced to quit their university education, some in their final year, with no compensation for the time and money spent. Patients undergoing or awaiting urgent medical treatment in Qatar, known for its excellent health care facilities, are being ordered home. Husbands and wives and whole families are being split up and sent in different directions, not knowing when they will see each other again. One Saudi family was turned away at the Saudi border when they attempted to attend a family funeral in Qatar after their loved one had died in hospital here. And one Qatari widow was forced to leave Saudi Arabia and return to Qatar without her special needs son who needed her care.
Individuals are being fired from their jobs, bank accounts frozen, businesses closed and ruined after years and years of building them. The Qatar Human Rights office is receiving hundreds of calls per day from people desperate for help. Qatar has told residents from all nations that they are welcome to stay and many of them are choosing to do so, despite the punishment threatened from their own countries.
The rest of us are not feeling as much pain. Sure, prices are going up in the shops a little, we cant get bananas and other items are sometimes unavailable, dairy products are arriving from Turkey but not always available and flying out of Qatar to anywhere is taking longer due to the restrictions on flight paths. And those carrying residents cards or permits to work in Qatar are being turned away from these neighbouring countries too, even though their nations' passports would normally entitle them to visas on arrival.
This being such a historic event, a friend and I decided to take a drive to the Saudi border to see what was happening there, if anything. As we drove there on a steamy Friday afternoon, temperature in the upper 40s, traffic became lighter and lighter. We came upon the border almost without warning and not much life was apparent.... apart from a police vehicle parked at the crossing.
We passed by slowly and then parked up in the petrol station beside immigration and went inside to talk to the attendants. They looked pretty delighted to have customers and told us that they were remaining open as usual but the days were passing slowly with few customers and nothing to do.
One or two other vehicles stopped to use the shop and we also watched a car seem to drive from Saudi Arabia into Qatar. But it wasn't clear how or why this vehicle was allowed to pass and certainly all news reports are declaring the border completely closed on both sides, even to citizens trying to return home.
We thought we might have more luck at the border closer to the UAE, so we took a drive in that direction, passing a sweet little place called Al Ameria, marked with a small tower and a well, typical of those dotted around the desert region and used as essential watering holes for the Bedouin and their livestock. The very same type of well that Wilfred Thesiger and his Bedouin companions would have depended on for survival when crossing the Empty Quarter desert around 100 years ago.
Close by was a small farm with goats, and our only glimpse of a camel all day. Kept in covered enclosures to protect them from the sun's harsh rays, they each had a hand cut 'hump hatch' for ease of movement in and out without catching their hump on the corrugated roof. A nice custom touch.
We drove on towards the second border but before we could get even close to it, we came upon a military checkpoint and we were waved away..... the only thing crossing this checkpoint was a cat - Qatari I presume!
With the sun dropping towards the horizon and the light fading, we drove towards Dukhan on the west coast to find a restaurant for Iftar, the meal which breaks the fast during Ramadan. As the sun set, we drove past a family who had stopped along the highway to prepare for Iftar and Maghrib prayer on the side of the road.
As the deadline passes for the 13,000 citizens affected by the punitive measures imposed by Qatar's neighbours, the UAE is now threatening that these sanctions could last for years with the intention of isolating Qatar from the region. And Qatar is saying that it will not negotiate until the blockade is lifted. So it seems this situation will continue for some time and we wait to see how and when it might be resolved. For now, the citizens and ex-pats alike are coming together in solidarity and support of the country and the Emir, and I guess the only people driving towards Saudi Arabia will be crazy border tourists like us!!
The participating countries closed their air space to Qatar Airways and their national airlines are no longer flying into Qatar. With the land border closed, all deliveries of food and other materials through Saudi Arabia have been halted so other arrangements were quickly made, including flying in produce from Turkey, Iran and India and sea shipping via Oman rather than UAE.
The effect on Gulf families is the biggest impact and today marks the 14 day deadline for Saudi, UAE and Bahraini nationals to leave Qatar and for Qataris to leave those countries. There are harsh penalties for those who do not comply, including threats of jail sentences, travel bans of up to 3 years and possibly revoking citizenship permanently. Amnesty International has accused these countries of "toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education"
Students are being forced to quit their university education, some in their final year, with no compensation for the time and money spent. Patients undergoing or awaiting urgent medical treatment in Qatar, known for its excellent health care facilities, are being ordered home. Husbands and wives and whole families are being split up and sent in different directions, not knowing when they will see each other again. One Saudi family was turned away at the Saudi border when they attempted to attend a family funeral in Qatar after their loved one had died in hospital here. And one Qatari widow was forced to leave Saudi Arabia and return to Qatar without her special needs son who needed her care.
Individuals are being fired from their jobs, bank accounts frozen, businesses closed and ruined after years and years of building them. The Qatar Human Rights office is receiving hundreds of calls per day from people desperate for help. Qatar has told residents from all nations that they are welcome to stay and many of them are choosing to do so, despite the punishment threatened from their own countries.
This being such a historic event, a friend and I decided to take a drive to the Saudi border to see what was happening there, if anything. As we drove there on a steamy Friday afternoon, temperature in the upper 40s, traffic became lighter and lighter. We came upon the border almost without warning and not much life was apparent.... apart from a police vehicle parked at the crossing.
We passed by slowly and then parked up in the petrol station beside immigration and went inside to talk to the attendants. They looked pretty delighted to have customers and told us that they were remaining open as usual but the days were passing slowly with few customers and nothing to do.
One or two other vehicles stopped to use the shop and we also watched a car seem to drive from Saudi Arabia into Qatar. But it wasn't clear how or why this vehicle was allowed to pass and certainly all news reports are declaring the border completely closed on both sides, even to citizens trying to return home.
We thought we might have more luck at the border closer to the UAE, so we took a drive in that direction, passing a sweet little place called Al Ameria, marked with a small tower and a well, typical of those dotted around the desert region and used as essential watering holes for the Bedouin and their livestock. The very same type of well that Wilfred Thesiger and his Bedouin companions would have depended on for survival when crossing the Empty Quarter desert around 100 years ago.
Close by was a small farm with goats, and our only glimpse of a camel all day. Kept in covered enclosures to protect them from the sun's harsh rays, they each had a hand cut 'hump hatch' for ease of movement in and out without catching their hump on the corrugated roof. A nice custom touch.
We drove on towards the second border but before we could get even close to it, we came upon a military checkpoint and we were waved away..... the only thing crossing this checkpoint was a cat - Qatari I presume!
With the sun dropping towards the horizon and the light fading, we drove towards Dukhan on the west coast to find a restaurant for Iftar, the meal which breaks the fast during Ramadan. As the sun set, we drove past a family who had stopped along the highway to prepare for Iftar and Maghrib prayer on the side of the road.
As the deadline passes for the 13,000 citizens affected by the punitive measures imposed by Qatar's neighbours, the UAE is now threatening that these sanctions could last for years with the intention of isolating Qatar from the region. And Qatar is saying that it will not negotiate until the blockade is lifted. So it seems this situation will continue for some time and we wait to see how and when it might be resolved. For now, the citizens and ex-pats alike are coming together in solidarity and support of the country and the Emir, and I guess the only people driving towards Saudi Arabia will be crazy border tourists like us!!
Comments
Post a Comment