You raise a lot of good points Nic, I agree with the majority of what you have said, and as you had stated I had misinterpreted your post as being directed at Qataris as whole as opposed to the specific issues that arise in respect to HS dropouts, and on that subject I entirely am in agreement.
As for the article I am fully aware that it reflects the writer's opinion, but that being said,a paper with reputation of NYT would have a great impact on the reader's own opinions if they aren't aware of what goes in reality in Qatar, such articles would be used as a basis to formulate an impression of what life is like in the region. On numerous occasions when I have been abroad speaking to those who have heard/read of Qatar they always talk to me about how progressive the place is, and how it's great that we have freedom of speech etc. All this goes back to what you were saying about the 'rosy painting', it was the foreign media's reporting of what goes in Qatar that gave these people these impressions. My issue is with when perhaps in the future when say for eg a Qatari does shed light on the issues that are swept under the rug here, those who depend on articles like the NYT one will perhaps reach the conclusion that maybe just like in the article, this is just some rich guy who is making a fuss over nothing, his country is flawless, in effect complementing the facade of perfect little Qatar.
What you referred to about Qatar not being used to critical criticism is something I can agree with you on, and yes there are a lot of locals who would be overly sensitive towards any form of criticism, be it constructive or just pure, unadulterated derision. On the other hand, there are those such as myself and many others, who do welcome intense scrutiny on the real workings of the Gulf, for eg there was this article I had read by the BBC I believe, and it's main focus was on Dubai's superficiality, and how it manages to maintain this image of a liberal international playground while the reality of the situation there can be quite bleak, from the conditions of those who built the city, to those who have been oppressed by an unchecked police state. If such an analysis was made towards Qatar then yes, I would be all for it. In no way I am suggesting that the NYT article should be censored or anything of the sort, all I am saying is that I find the harm it can do goes beyond simply being a non-influential opinion piece, and if more articles were to come out with such content, all it would do is further distort what goes on in practice.
I understand it is not their duty to shed light on issues that gets no coverage locally, nor are they obliged to be particularly objective, and that they are entitled to their opinions, it is just that the some of us who need to exercise discretion before expressing our opinions feel kind of 'betrayed' so to speak, as we would expect a writer of the NYT to be capable of critical reasoning, and to shed light on some real issues facing qatar, as opposed to what was contained in the article, I would expect such a superficial analysis from somewhere like FOX for example, but not the NYT. I don't perceive the article to be one that is bashing qatar, quite the contrary, it is making Qatar appear to be a nation where everything is perfect that the citizens are forced to find trivial issues to complain about.
My 'China' example was based on a little documentary I watched where they covered the dilemma facing villagers in trying to strike a balance between their need for foreign money, and their fear of their culture/values being compromised by those coming in with the money. I can't confirm it's veracity as I have never been to China, and haven't read much on the subject, so I'll take your word for it. That being said, I do intend to visit there, so should something happen to me in the remote villages I will hold you personally responsible for any losses I might incur.:P
Yes I agree that decades would not be enough to change the cultural/traditional practices of the region, not even a century in my opinion, however this is more tied with the influence of certain different interpretations of religious texts which would be too large of a subject to cover here.
In Qatar the scholarship programs to send students abroad are usually tied in with conditions that require you to work certain government departments for the number of years you spent abroad, this is harmful to those who come back and end up working 3-4 years doing nothing that requires them to apply what they spent 3-4 years learning! When they do want to go abroad to work they would have forgotten most of what they had learned, and additionally they have no relevant work experience for the 3 or 4 years they spent in the office. And if they want to go to these top institutions on their own expense, it is particularly costly as citizens of the countries where these universities are based usually complain of the costs of tuition fees, which are 1/2 and some times even a 1/3 of what we would have to pay as international students! Not to mention other costs such as traveling arrangements and whatnot. A lot of my friends are entertaining the idea of working abroad, as you had said they realized that Qatar is not a place one should come to to learn, but rather to teach. The only thing working against them is their concerns of their lack of proper experience in their respective fields because of the issues I mentioned above.
As you have said it is difficult to adequately cover the points we wish to discuss on a forum like this, but generally I can say that a lot of what you have said reflects my own views on the situation. I just feel strongly about this issue as there are on the one hand a lot of Qataris who close their eyes and pretend that there is nothing wrong with the country, and then there are those like the OP who portray the citizens as a spoiled population being showered with endless opportunities, I would go as far as saying that on balance, those who are lazy would be able to see the situation as one where they are being spoiled, rewarded for not doing much, yet those who do have ambition on the other hand, are fairly quick to realize that the current setup just does not favor them.
You raise a lot of good points Nic, I agree with the majority of what you have said, and as you had stated I had misinterpreted your post as being directed at Qataris as whole as opposed to the specific issues that arise in respect to HS dropouts, and on that subject I entirely am in agreement.
As for the article I am fully aware that it reflects the writer's opinion, but that being said,a paper with reputation of NYT would have a great impact on the reader's own opinions if they aren't aware of what goes in reality in Qatar, such articles would be used as a basis to formulate an impression of what life is like in the region. On numerous occasions when I have been abroad speaking to those who have heard/read of Qatar they always talk to me about how progressive the place is, and how it's great that we have freedom of speech etc. All this goes back to what you were saying about the 'rosy painting', it was the foreign media's reporting of what goes in Qatar that gave these people these impressions. My issue is with when perhaps in the future when say for eg a Qatari does shed light on the issues that are swept under the rug here, those who depend on articles like the NYT one will perhaps reach the conclusion that maybe just like in the article, this is just some rich guy who is making a fuss over nothing, his country is flawless, in effect complementing the facade of perfect little Qatar.
What you referred to about Qatar not being used to critical criticism is something I can agree with you on, and yes there are a lot of locals who would be overly sensitive towards any form of criticism, be it constructive or just pure, unadulterated derision. On the other hand, there are those such as myself and many others, who do welcome intense scrutiny on the real workings of the Gulf, for eg there was this article I had read by the BBC I believe, and it's main focus was on Dubai's superficiality, and how it manages to maintain this image of a liberal international playground while the reality of the situation there can be quite bleak, from the conditions of those who built the city, to those who have been oppressed by an unchecked police state. If such an analysis was made towards Qatar then yes, I would be all for it. In no way I am suggesting that the NYT article should be censored or anything of the sort, all I am saying is that I find the harm it can do goes beyond simply being a non-influential opinion piece, and if more articles were to come out with such content, all it would do is further distort what goes on in practice.
I understand it is not their duty to shed light on issues that gets no coverage locally, nor are they obliged to be particularly objective, and that they are entitled to their opinions, it is just that the some of us who need to exercise discretion before expressing our opinions feel kind of 'betrayed' so to speak, as we would expect a writer of the NYT to be capable of critical reasoning, and to shed light on some real issues facing qatar, as opposed to what was contained in the article, I would expect such a superficial analysis from somewhere like FOX for example, but not the NYT. I don't perceive the article to be one that is bashing qatar, quite the contrary, it is making Qatar appear to be a nation where everything is perfect that the citizens are forced to find trivial issues to complain about.
My 'China' example was based on a little documentary I watched where they covered the dilemma facing villagers in trying to strike a balance between their need for foreign money, and their fear of their culture/values being compromised by those coming in with the money. I can't confirm it's veracity as I have never been to China, and haven't read much on the subject, so I'll take your word for it. That being said, I do intend to visit there, so should something happen to me in the remote villages I will hold you personally responsible for any losses I might incur.:P
Yes I agree that decades would not be enough to change the cultural/traditional practices of the region, not even a century in my opinion, however this is more tied with the influence of certain different interpretations of religious texts which would be too large of a subject to cover here.
In Qatar the scholarship programs to send students abroad are usually tied in with conditions that require you to work certain government departments for the number of years you spent abroad, this is harmful to those who come back and end up working 3-4 years doing nothing that requires them to apply what they spent 3-4 years learning! When they do want to go abroad to work they would have forgotten most of what they had learned, and additionally they have no relevant work experience for the 3 or 4 years they spent in the office. And if they want to go to these top institutions on their own expense, it is particularly costly as citizens of the countries where these universities are based usually complain of the costs of tuition fees, which are 1/2 and some times even a 1/3 of what we would have to pay as international students! Not to mention other costs such as traveling arrangements and whatnot. A lot of my friends are entertaining the idea of working abroad, as you had said they realized that Qatar is not a place one should come to to learn, but rather to teach. The only thing working against them is their concerns of their lack of proper experience in their respective fields because of the issues I mentioned above.
As you have said it is difficult to adequately cover the points we wish to discuss on a forum like this, but generally I can say that a lot of what you have said reflects my own views on the situation. I just feel strongly about this issue as there are on the one hand a lot of Qataris who close their eyes and pretend that there is nothing wrong with the country, and then there are those like the OP who portray the citizens as a spoiled population being showered with endless opportunities, I would go as far as saying that on balance, those who are lazy would be able to see the situation as one where they are being spoiled, rewarded for not doing much, yet those who do have ambition on the other hand, are fairly quick to realize that the current setup just does not favor them.