Qatar Times: Part 1 – Is it Safe?

If there is any one question that was asked (or implied) before I left, it was “Is it Safe?”. Some other more indirect rhetorical questions/responses sounds like this:

– Really? Wow (But like Wow, as in “He’s sending his family to the equivalent of Iraq)
– Are you sure? (translation: Are you sure you want to work in a war zone?)
– I’ve even had folks suggest that they fear being kidnapped or forced being wrapped in a burqa like Taco Bell wraps burritos. Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with the burqa or the niqab or any other covering. Women have the freedom to wear what they want, but they shouldn’t be forced or unduly prohibited from wearing these types of coverings. For more information on this. go here.

I have no idea what other warped ideas swirl in people’s minds when you mention any country in the Middle East, but the ones above are the more obvious fears. At the same time I can’t be too hard on folks being that their main intention is concern for my safety. But like an over-protective parent can be for their children, some of this concern is grounded in a bit of fantasy, xenophobia and misinformation.

I do realize that there are a lot of revolutions/upheavals going on in the Middle East, but we have to be able to distinguish one county from another and one region from another. Yes the Arab Awakening (known in the states as the Arab Spring) is in full effect. Yes there are wars and civil wars going on in Iraq, but that doesn’t mean it’s happening all over the Middle East nor does it mean that these skirmishes have the potential to bleed everywhere in the Middle East or North Africa. I’m going to address two things in this post. The proximity of some of these skirmishes and some basic demographic data of Qatar.

Although there have been other incidents in Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, the main players in the Arab Awakening have been Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain. Now keep in mind that the Arab Awakening is about reforming policy in the Middle East and North Africa. People are fighting for their right for freedom and the pursuit of happiness just like any American during the American Revolution. However, the whole entire region is not going up in smoke which might be the perception being that the MSM (Main Stream Media) presents just the conflicted areas of the Middle East without presenting the areas that are politically and economically stabilized.

So now to answer the million dollar or riyal question: Is it Safe?

Yes. It’s extremely safe. People leave their cars running while they hop inside and outside of stores. Yes gas is $1.00 a gallon and yes it’s really hot (people keep their cars running to keep the A/C on), but the safety is there. You guessed it, the country with the highest per capita income is Qatar and has been for the last 10 years. And can you take a wild guess which country has one of the lowest crime rates in the world? Um..Qatar again with a score of 1.0 while United States has a score of 5.0 and has a higher homicide rate that close in numbers to such countries as Yemen and Ukraine. Iraq, a U.S. occupied country, has a score of 7.3.

If you look at the 10 most dangerous cities you’ll be surprised by the cities that made the list. You can go here, here, and here. Although the list is different for each site (in regards to which city is the most violent), there are two American cities that make the list. Detroit has 43.7 murders per 100,000 and New Orleans has 52 per 100,000

If you take the distance between Qatar and Libya we are looking at a distance that reaches from New York to Las Vegas. [2233 miles] [show diagram]. If you take the distance between Qatar and Tunisia you are reaching a distance that almost spans the entire length of the United States of America.

Distance statistics:

• Distance between Qatar and Libya [2100 miles]
• Distance between Qatar and Tunisia [2500 miles]
• Distance between Qatar and Cairo, Egypt [1300 miles]
• Distance between Qatar and Bahgdhad, Iraq [680 miles]
• Distance between Qatar and Bahrain [70 miles]

Below you can click on the map below to get a sense of where Qatar is located and it’s proximity to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa. I specifically highlighted those countries that are tied to the Arab Awakening.

Now when so-called “super powers” share a list with such countries like Mogadishu, Somalia, Karachi, Pakistan and Baghdad, Iraq (650,000 civilians dead since 2003), Cape Town, South Africa (50 murders a day) in regards to the most violent cities, you have to wonder who is really safe? I do understand that the proximity of many of these awakenings or uprisings are probably closer than any one individual would like but I can assure you, I do not see burning tires and bellowing smoke from my window. I don’t hear gunfire and I don’t see a legion of militias driving banged up Nissans pickups with AK-47s. The only Nissans pick ups I see are from construction workers. The only thing that lights up the sky is the moon, not tracer fire from a machine gun. Notice that the only Middle Eastern country that made the most violent city list is Iraq and this is an occupied country. The countries violence is attributed to U.S. occupation and not necessarily something inherently violent in Iraq. Suicide bombing didn’t start until the 2003 invasion of Iraq. More on that that here.

It’s time to separate fact from fiction. Many people are doing themselves a disservice by limiting their world view to the border of the United States of America. Com’ on over to the Middle East where the sun is always shining and the diversity is as beautiful as the people who live here. I’m not here to spin away the problems from the region, but put some context and clarity as to what is going on in the Middle East and North Africa. In the next installment of Qatar Times, I’ll give a bit more detail about the people of Qatar and how our experience has been.

Bonus Infographic

If you want to get a sense of the size of the North Africa and Middle East, click on the image below. I’ve layered the United States of America over the map. The length of the United States is about 2900 miles across. Depending on where you are measuring it could be less or more. I tried to scale this as best I could. Enjoy!

Other posts in this series

1. Qatar Times: Part 1 - Is it Safe? (This post) (August 28, 2011)

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