In the time that I have been in Doha I have met an
incredible amount of Indian nationals. This makes sense because India passport
holders make up nearly 25% of the total population of Qatar totally over
500,000 people. The vast majority of these people come from Kerala, a
southwestern Indian state known for its lush green landscape and backwaters.
The scenery in Kerala has also been called “God’s Own Country” for its striking
beauty. Keeping all of this in mind, it has been a goal of mine to travel to Kerala
since arriving in Doha.
This past weekend I finally got the chance as myself and
travel buddy Kevin D’Arco took a three day holiday to float down the backwaters
and find out what Kerala was all about. While we were there we were able to
take a day out on a house boat, relax at some beautiful resorts, explore some
local markets and see influences from Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic religions.
We also met a lot of interesting individuals, the most interesting of which was
an Indian Naval Engineer who went by the name Raghu. We met Raghu during a game
of billiards and we proceeded to spend the rest of the night with him learning
how play properly, having India’s entire history narrated to us, being educated
on the benefits of being vegetarian, and attempting to solve all of India’s
economic woes. We tried to get Raghu to be our life coaches but were
unsuccessful. Although our time in Kerala was short we were both happy we had
the chance to see where so many of our fellow Doha residents call home.
Shifting gears a bit, some of you may have seen the
Washington Post article from earlier this week titled “In Qatar’s Education
City, US colleges are building an academic oasis”. If you haven’t you can
access it here:
Education City is a really difficult initiative to describe
to outsiders and one that I continue to develop an understanding for, even after
having been here for four years. That being said, I think the article gives a good
overview specifically around enrollment and budgetary figures that are
difficult to come by, even here locally. The tone in certain sections is a bit presumptuous
and judgmental of the foreign culture and is surprised at the level of
sophistication and development that exists, but that is to be expected.
There is no denying that running academic institutions in
Qatar could be seen as controversial. There is Qatar’s human rights track record, there is academic freedom, there is budgeting,
there is brand management of main campuses, and many more challenges in
operating such a model. But when you take back and look at what is really happening
here, Education City transcends many of these challenges. During an era that has
been marked by strained US and Middle East relationships I think Education City
serves as a beacon for hope as education provides a way to overcome global conflict
and challenges. Is this idealistic? Sure. Do I think our budgetary numbers to
work towards this vision are inflated? Yes. But growth and change takes time.
As Education City continues to build upon its first ten years of success, I am
interested to see what the next ten years bring.
As a final thought, take a look at the comments section. The
discourse there is fascinating to me and demonstrates an inability to see from another
person’s perspective, unfounded generalizations, and islamophobia. I would go
so far as to say an Education City education would do a lot of good for the
commenters as we graduate students who are culturally savvy, globally minded,
and well situated to work in a global context.
This weekend I head to Salalah, Oman for the annual Outward
Bound course we host through the Student Center. I have never been to this
location and am looking forward to a great 4 day/3 night hiking journey with 20
incredible students. Will report back when I return!
