Prof Mohammed S
Arab and international news agencies reported the resignation of Joseph Blatter, the president of Fifa, after accusations and threats to dismantle the organisation and establish a new federation because of allegations that some leaders of the global soccer body were involved in corruption and had accepted illegal funds to favour certain countries or continents.
A group of people who hate Qatar and are jealous of it because of its sporting achievements and the ability of its leaders to grab the right to deservedly organise the World Cup in 2022, floated rumours that Qatar would lose the right to host this global sporting event after Blatter’s resignation.
It is very unfortunate that some of our Arab brothers have diligently worked and are still working to damage the reputation and prestige of Qatar among the international community, sometimes by addressing the living and working conditions of expatriate labourers, as if foreign employment in the rest of the world, especially the Gulf States, enjoys the best benefits and work environment.
The Qatari natural environment — high temperatures in the summer — is the same across the Gulf region. Employment in Qatar has a better reputation than any other country in the region.
Moreover, working hours in the summer are at their minimum when labourers are not allowed to work in exposed areas after 11 in the morning.
There were never recorded cases in Qatar showing discontentment among labour, whether collective or individual, for any reason. This is evidence that workers are satisfied with their living and working conditions in this good country.
In several Gulf states there have been cases of workers’ strikes, which paralysed the economy and led to financial and legal damage to contractors and businessmen due to the illegal practice of increasing working hours without pay or breaching contracts. Some reports say that the mortality rate among foreign workers in Qatar is high. Any reasonable and fair-minded person knows that the population of foreign workers in Qatar is more than a million. If we compare the mortality rate of Qatari nationals and foreign workers, the percentage of deaths among citizens is higher.
According to Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, when the time is right, we hope that our country’s political leadership will reveal to the entire Arab world that some Arab countries have been busy inciting hatred against Qatar in order to spoil its chances of organising the World Cup in 2022, which it well deserves.
On May 27, I read in a Qatari newspaper, “the Arabs,” that Sheikh Faleh bin Nasser Al Thani responded to citizens’ request of renaming streets and neighbourhoods in cities. I thank him for his initiative and ask his permission to note a few issues.
What I wanted to say is, we must not use local dialects while renaming neighbourhoods and streets, since we have adopted the Arabic language even in the menus of restaurants.
I remember that Aljasra neighbourhood now carries a different name. Are we going to rename neighbourhoods and squares carrying historical names or names of prominent figures such as Freij bin Mahmoud and Freij Ghanim, by replacing the word “Freij” with “Hay,” meaning neighbourhood since they became large over time and the old name is no longer applicable?
Since we began replanning Doha and other cities, we must pay close attention to properly labelling neighbourhoods, streets and squares.
Finally, I wish to mention that my idea of renaming streets, neighbourhoods and squares in cities all over Qatar has received lot of attention from the relevant committee.
