Dr. Narad Nath Bharadwaj
In its onward journey, human civilization has faced adversities, set up tragic milestones and carried with it memories of suffering from diseases, natural calamities and war. It has faced the menace of bubonic plague, Smallpox, Spanish Flu and world wars in previous centuries. Now it is facing the scourge of coronavirus (COVID-19), which is spreading across the world posing an existential threat to human race once again.
The whole world is in a state of war with this disease and all of us living in the State of Qatar have also found ourselves locked in the battle against it. This disease, which has now assumed the form of global pandemic, is terrorizing the whole world with its virulence and morbidity. It is very infectious even while remaining asymptomatic. That is why it is very dangerous also.
It is a new virus, against which humanity does not yet have an antidote, has no immunization, no vaccines and antibodies. This has made the fight against this disease more challenging and complicated.
Now, the whole world is practicing self-isolation, quarantine and lockdown. They have proved to be three magical weapons which we have at our disposal to protect ourselves from getting infected with the disease.
On the basis of the available knowledge and insight into this disease, the State of Qatar, too, has been managing the spreading infection smartly and efficiently under the wise and enlightened leadership of His Highness Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. In a short span of time the health authorities of this country have tested more than 52,622 people as of today, provided quarantine facility to the infected people and given access to highest standard of health care to seriously sick people. This has kept the rate of mortality very low and many infected people have had the opportunity to go back to work after being cured of the disease.
The State of Qatar has pledged that it will provide equal treatment to all the residents of Qatar irrespective of their nationality, residential status, religion and ethnicity. This has instilled a confidence among the expatriate community.
The government of Qatar has provided foods and salary for expatriate workers who were furloughed by their companies and private employers for region of the adverse impact of the coronavirus on their enterprises. This reveals a high degree of empathy of the Qatari government towards the expatriate workers including the Nepali workers.
The Nepali community living in Doha is aware that the leaders of Qatar have acknowledged and appreciated their contribution and other expatriate communities to the development efforts and modernization of Qatar. In return, the Nepali people working in Qatar have obeyed the government authorities of Qatar, complied with directives and abode law.
In this context, the Embassy of Nepal has also organized various awareness raising activities targeting Nepali workers and educated them about the culture, religion and social etiquettes and behavioral codes of the Qatari society so that they do not end up committing acts that may be offensive to Arab culture. As a result, respectful and harmonious relation has been maintained among the native and expatriate communities.
Now the Nepali people are fighting against the Corona virus together with the native population. We have adequately explained that they need to maintain distance from one another, wash hands repeatedly with soap and water and use face masks while going out to malls and other public places. Most of the Nepali in Qatar are in home isolation. Some of them are still working in construction sites but they are made aware of the precautionary measures.
We Nepali people living in Qatar have the full confidence in the competence of the Qatari government in handling the situation. With the state-of-the-art health facilities, qualified medical professionals and the mature and enlightened leadership of His Highness the Amir, the people of Qatar will surely get over the crisis and march forward taking the disruption caused by the coronavirus in their strides.
Dr. Narad Nath Bharadwaj, Ambassador of Nepal to the state of Qatar
