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Hi, I don't know you, but can you do this for me?
Today, I'll be discussing that topic we all vent about over coffee and tea. The topic every expat, Qatari, and miscellaneous will discuss because it’s such a pronounced feature of living in Qatar.
My friends, we are discussing the constant blatant requests for favours, help, and money by mere strangers.
It’s weird, but after 11 years in Qatar, as soon as I meet someone getting extra friendly, the first thing that runs in the back of my mind is “Oh dear, what do they want?”. The minorly fabulous feature of this though, is that often someone will just outright ask for what they want.
There isn’t much beating around the bush, a random stranger will meet you smiling, exchange a few niceties, and two minutes later they will be asking you to help them find a job, find their cousin a job, get a Canadian passport, etc, etc, etc.
It all seems a bit rude, to me at least.
This has been my experience and that of many many friends.
On the flip side though, I met a lovely Al Thani lady, who did vent on this topic. But, her situation was much more tragic.
She stated how she leads a relatively solitary, lonely lifestyle here in Qatar. Which is her homeland. She said all her friendship, every single one, always leads to someone asking her for financial help.
She said people will cultivate a relationship with her over the course of a year or two, then without fail, her precious friends whom she loves and cares for, will ask her for money. Once the money is given, they quickly disappear.
I get Qatar is mixed pot of people. We are all different and many of us are far from home. Regardless, we are still “people”.
Being gracious and kind should pervade everywhere. A friend mentioned to me the other day that Qatar is a place of business, development, and career opportunities, not a place to build relationships. Seems kinda sad.
(In the comments section - share your awesome relationship experiences, because I’ll share them in my next article... as there are always two sides of every coin ;) )
Thanks for the charity service , my pal, so kind of you, yes !!
@ the author, you dont seem 100% authentic, to each there own i guess.
This is why they say: the friend you make in a foreign land is worth 100 friends.
Such foreign land is mainly visited for the interest in higher income, the utmost materialistic concern, where genuine is hard to be found.
Sometimes the in laws ask for a loan and the salary is low
It is a sad fact that Qatar has nothing to offer but money (for the majority of the people). That doesn't mean that it is impossible to develop real friendship in few cases. However, as a country Qatar is all but relation-friendly.
One can always say no. No one can take advantage of you without your permission (Eleanor Roosevelt)
One can always say no. No one can take advantage of you without your permission (Eleanor Roosevelt)
There is one simple answer .. The country is full of expats who come here seeking the roads paved with gold - most end up in a rut and look for any avenue to help better their situation ..
So they seek help from anyone who they feel might benefit them
That means you and your Qatari friends have come across wrong people. I have met a no. of people in Qatar and some of them became good friends. I never faced such a kind of situation.
I guess we have similar kinda humans everywhere...so don't be sad, Cheers and move on !