Does living in Qatar require a moral compromise?

In the midst of the fallout from the most recent FIFA scandal, Qatar once again finds itself under a microscope. Allegations of bribery and continued human labor abuses in Qatar have dominated international headlines. I won’t go into my own views on FIFA and the 2022 World Cup, although I will say that if an organization (FIFA) puts an event up for sale and it is paid for I blame the seller not the buyer. I would rather discuss what it is like to live in Qatar, a place often criticized.

A recent article entitled “The Moral Conflict of Living and Working in Qatar” has generated a lot of discussion within the expat community here in Qatar. It can be found in full here:

http://thebillfold.com/2015/06/the-moral-conflict-of-living-and-working-in-qatar/

(Please read it in full before reading my comments because it would lose context)

The more time I spend thinking about this article, the more thoughts I have. I commend the author for sparking conversation that I think doesn’t happen enough for expats in Qatar, doing real critical reflection about what it means to be here and why they are here in the first place. A lot of what is in the article resonated with me, not to mention the author is a twenty something year old, American male, who worked in education in Qatar for three years. On the whole I can’t say that I disagree with the article. It brings up many valid points and eloquently captures some of the everyday things that happen here. What I think it lacks to capture is the complexity of the place that is Qatar.

First off, as an expat we are a guest in this country. We are invited in to help support the vision that the country has. Whether you want to be part of that or not is a personal choice. As a guest we will often not understand the full picture of what is happening in the country so it is important to hold judgment as we get only one piece of the story. I think too often expats, specifically western expats, are critical about what is happening in Qatar as it is an easy target. We are not here to “fix” it and we are not here to “enlighten” people but more to provide support where needed. If we want to “fix” things we should stay in our home countries because there is plenty of work to do there too.

Now some could say I “drank the karak” in terms of my views on Qatar because I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Friends will often make fun of me for how highly of a regard I have for Qatar. When it comes down to it, Qatar is a brand new country and society. It has not had the benefit of hundreds of years to develop its own practices and identities, yet it is held to the same global standards of countries like the USA and UK. Many of Qatar’s challenges are not only its own, for example human labor issues that are rampant throughout the GCC and have roots in the home countries of many of these workers. This is not to make an excuse that we shouldn’t be better, we should. But it is complicated.

I believe that Qatar is a change agent but change also takes time especially when it is cultural. While yes, we have not seen the progressive labor changes that we would like recently but this should not come as a surprise. Qatari cultural is conservative and slow to change. While there are many great Qatari leaders who are champions for change, getting buy in from the local community takes painstakingly long.

As far as the impact on expats who live and work here. The reality is, your sense of “normal” does get skewed. You do get used to a lavish lifestyle you didn’t know existed before, you do get used to jet setting to a new country every month, you do get used to driving past abuses on a regular basis, you do get used to tax free incomes that are staggering compared to your earning power at home, and you do have to make some moral compromises to live here. Because like it or not, you are part of this system. A system that benefits you at the expense of others.

When I look around at the world though, I would say that moral compromise is happening for many of us. No country is perfect and you will be hard pressed to find a place where you agree with every political view and event that takes place. But I would say some countries are better at masking their issues than others. The last line of the article states “the thing about Qatar though is that it’s everywhere, it’s out in the open, and you can’t look away.” I really agree with that statement but I think it is a positive thing. We are trying to solve many of our challenges. And it won’t happen overnight. But my hope is that the global community keeps pressure on Qatar to promote positive changes but does so with patience and understanding that it will take time. And as we work towards the Qatar National Vision 2030 my hope is that it will build a better Qatar, one that I am proud to help support.